Oasis Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Oasis Advisors LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 98.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,922 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 95,818 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 0.4% of Oasis Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Oasis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,201 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Sept. 9 product event is generating significant interest under new CEO John Ternus, with expectations for new iPhones, an Apple Watch update and potentially the company’s first foldable iPhone. Citi estimates the foldable device could sell 7.3 million units despite a possible price above $2,000. Citi foldable iPhone sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed strong momentum, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year and earnings exceeding analyst expectations. Morgan Stanley has also suggested the foldable iPhone could contribute roughly $14 billion in December-quarter revenue if successfully launched. Morgan Stanley foldable iPhone estimate
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has succeeded Tim Cook as CEO, while Cook remains executive chairman. The transition offers continuity through a longtime Apple executive but raises questions about whether Ternus can accelerate Apple’s artificial-intelligence strategy and sustain Cook-era growth. John Ternus becomes Apple CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate initial foldable iPhone production was only a few hundred units per day in late August. Tight quality controls and memory shortages could limit launch supply, delay purchases and prevent Apple from fully capturing expected demand. Foldable iPhone production hurdles
• Negative Sentiment: Memory costs have reportedly surged, potentially forcing Apple to raise iPhone prices, absorb lower margins or risk weaker demand. Jefferies has also downgraded AAPL amid skepticism about the foldable product’s market potential. iPhone memory cost concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a $2.7 billion UK lawsuit over alleged unfair app-tracking rules and a separate BASF patent lawsuit involving facial-authentication technology, adding regulatory and litigation risk. Apple UK app-tracking lawsuit

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.61.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $319.97 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $315.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.59. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $225.95 and a 1 year high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.Apple’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple Profile

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.