Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Insider Sells $63,846,078.88 in Stock

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This trade represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Apple Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $336.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.42 and a 12 month high of $345.34. The company has a market cap of $4.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $321.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Arete Research boosted their price target on Apple from $305.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Loop Capital set a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Phillip Securities upped their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.02.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 4.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 630,662,494 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $182,897,769,000 after acquiring an additional 28,321,085 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $30,443,242,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 75,000,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $20,389,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly partnering with LG Electronics to develop a smart-home lineup including a doorbell, smart lock, thermostat and other accessories tied to a new Apple home hub. The initiative could expand the HomeKit ecosystem, create new hardware and services revenue, and intensify competition with Amazon’s Ring and Google’s Nest. Apple partners with LG on smart-home devices
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store revenue growth reportedly rebounded to 5% in September after a weaker August. Continued Services momentum supports the company’s recurring-revenue profile, though investors are watching whether the improvement proves durable. Apple App Store growth rebounds
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares worth about $8.5 million to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting. Because the transaction was tax-related rather than described as discretionary selling, it is unlikely to materially change the investment case, though it may create short-term headline pressure. Apple CEO stock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its Apple price target to $355 despite raising revenue forecasts, citing softer iPhone pricing and higher memory-chip costs that could compress gross margins. The target is only modestly above recent trading levels, limiting perceived upside. Morgan Stanley cuts Apple price target
• Negative Sentiment: Several valuation comparisons highlight that investors pay substantially more for each dollar of Apple’s earnings than for Nvidia’s, despite Nvidia’s stronger recent profitability. With AAPL trading at an elevated earnings multiple, the stock may require sustained iPhone, Services and AI growth to justify its premium. Nvidia versus Apple valuation comparison

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets 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 software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.