The announcement of the impending departure of longtime Apple longtime design leader Sir Jonathan "Jony" Ive came as little surprise to Wall Street analysts but it did drag on the company's stock nonetheless.

Shares of Apple slipped 1% in early trading Friday from Thursday's close of $199.74.

Apple said he is leaving later this year to start an independent design company that "will count Apple among its primary clients."

Analysts rued the announcement, as Ive had been with Apple for nearly 30 years. As Apple's chief design officer, Ive styled the vast majority of Apple products over the past two decades, including the iPhone.

"In our judgment, we view Jony Ive as one of the most important people at AAPL and perhaps second only to CEO Tim Cook presently in terms of impact to AAPL's success," Deutsche Bank said in a note to investors.

Nomura Instinet analysts called his leaving "a sentimental negative," as "he represents a particularly strong connection to Apple iconic heritage."

"His departure, therefore, should prompt much nostalgia, and may lead some investors to question Apple's ability to retain leading industrial design," Nomura said.

However, the analysts did not see this as a significant enough loss to the company to adjust their ratings or price targets. Nomura said the firm believes "this a sensible and even expected time for Mr. Ive to disengage," while Evercore ISI said there will be little impact beyond the slight negative from the announcement.

"While Mr. Ive's departure is a headline negative for the stock, given AAPL's deep design bench and future relationship with Mr. Ive's new company, we think any impact should be fairly limited," Evercore ISI said.

Here's what every major analyst had to say about Ive's departure.