Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Sold by Vision Capital Management Inc.

Vision Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,291 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,086 shares during the period. Apple makes up 8.1% of Vision Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Vision Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $73,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. tru Independence LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. tru Independence LLC now owns 35,600 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,856,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 44,376 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 2,406,363 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $801,367,000 after purchasing an additional 38,186 shares during the period. Midway Capital Research & Management grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Midway Capital Research & Management now owns 26,933 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,969,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. Finally, Altium Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,755,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total transaction of $806,495.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,116,870.56. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 289,252 shares of company stock valued at $96,301,063. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 5.3%

AAPL stock opened at $349.51 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $334.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.42 and a fifty-two week high of $354.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Post-election relief helped lift major technology stocks, including Apple, as investors saw reduced near-term uncertainty. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reached a record high amid signs of renewed demand. Investors are also weighing the rollout of Apple Intelligence in China, which could help close a competitive gap in a major market. Invezz article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reducing employee budgets for AI tools as it seeks to manage expenses, while reported research costs have climbed 32%. Cost control may help, but the spending trend underscores the expense of competing in AI. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory prices remain a key risk to profitability: Apple expects higher component costs to pressure holiday-quarter gross margins, and its manufacturing purchase commitments have increased. MarketBeat article
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and margin concerns persist despite the rally; DZ Bank downgraded Apple to sell, citing a $300 price target. MarketBeat ratings

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Apple from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $340.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective (up from $296.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.51.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.