J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 25,535 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 558,789 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 25,535 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.4% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Apple were worth $141,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 9.8% in the first quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,206 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,829,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Moment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 18,895 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,795,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 36,643 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,300,000 after buying an additional 2,941 shares in the last quarter. Navigate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,981,000. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 169.6% in the 1st quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 550,012 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $139,588,000 after acquiring an additional 346,039 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Market-cap leadership and momentum: Apple reclaimed the title of the world’s largest company as Nvidia shares declined. The move reinforces investor confidence in Apple’s resilient consumer business and has made AAPL a relative outperformer among major technology stocks. Apple ends day as world’s most valuable company, passing Nvidia
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings optimism: Apple reports results on July 30, with analysts expecting continued iPhone demand, Services growth, and potentially strong Mac revenue. Goldman Sachs raised its price target and expects performance above consensus on iPhone and Mac sales, while Bank of America anticipates a Services-driven earnings beat. Goldman Raises Apple Stock Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Investor positioning: Options activity indicates traders are preparing for a sizable upward move following earnings. The stock has risen about 20% from its late-June low, reflecting elevated expectations for the report and Apple’s product ecosystem. Apple options are doing something unusual into earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Future product catalysts: Apple is reportedly emphasizing privacy as it develops smart glasses for a potential 2027 launch, while investors continue to speculate about a foldable iPhone and incoming CEO John Ternus’s ability to drive the next major product cycle. Apple Puts Privacy at Center of Smart Glasses Push
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution concerns: Investors remain divided over Apple’s comparatively restrained AI spending and strategy, particularly as rivals commit hundreds of billions of dollars to AI infrastructure. A disappointing outlook or evidence that Apple is falling behind could pressure the stock after its strong run. Apple Is Barely Spending on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and component-cost risks: At roughly 41 times earnings, Apple has limited room for an earnings miss. Potential tariffs and higher memory-chip prices could increase iPhone production costs and compress hardware margins, although Apple is reportedly seeking permission to use Chinese memory components in international devices. Apple stock and memory-cost analysis

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KGI Securities downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $364.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $336.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $307.40 and a 200-day moving average of $279.61. The company has a market cap of $4.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $201.50 and a one year high of $339.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.