MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Sells 28,019 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 642,937 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 28,019 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.8% of MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Apple were worth $186,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co. Redburn upgraded Apple to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $400 from $260. The firm cited potential growth from a premium foldable iPhone and a strategic reset of Apple Intelligence, while suggesting Apple could use Nvidia’s open-source AI models to improve its position. Apple Stock Got an Upgrade. It Could Be the AI Gatekeeper.
• Positive Sentiment: Antitrust relief removes a legal overhang. Apple reportedly won significant relief in an antitrust battle, potentially reducing regulatory risk around its App Store and business practices. Apple Wins Major Relief in Antitrust Battle
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-iPhone event demand appears supportive. A KeyBanc survey indicated improving consumer spending ahead of Apple’s expected September product launch, providing a potential near-term catalyst for iPhone sales. Why Investors Should Consider Buying Apple Stock Ahead of Its September iPhone Event
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is changing European app-tracking consent rules following a German competition investigation. The changes may benefit Meta and advertisers, but could reduce some of Apple’s control over data-related monetization. Apple to change app data consent rules, German regulator says
• Negative Sentiment: Memory-chip sourcing is a growing risk. The Trump administration urged Apple not to buy Chinese memory chips because of national-security concerns. Complying could raise component costs, while defying the request could create political or supply-chain complications. Apple May Buy Chinese Memory Chips Despite US Request
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution concerns remain. At roughly $306 and about 35 times earnings, bearish commentary argues that much of Apple’s quality is already reflected in the price and that AI progress may not justify a higher multiple. Apple’s Red Flags Are Real and Signal Trouble
• Negative Sentiment: Security and App Store-management reports add reputational risk. Investigators reported an unusually large number of spyware alerts affecting Apple users, while DefiLlama said fake apps delayed its launch. Apple has also patched a critical macOS flaw exploited for cryptocurrency mining. Unprecedented number of Apple users received recent spyware alert

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. DZ Bank lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,342,929.25. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $305.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $223.78 and a one year high of $344.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $309.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.73.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

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.