Spartan Planning & Wealth Management Sells 5,396 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Spartan Planning & Wealth Management cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,406 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,396 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.5% of Spartan Planning & Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. State Street Corp raised its stake in Apple by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 630,662,494 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $182,897,769,000 after purchasing an additional 28,321,085 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $30,443,242,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,547,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,780,080 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $245.00 price target (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.12.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong iPhone Duo demand is the main catalyst. Preorders for the $1,999 foldable reportedly sold out quickly, with delivery dates extending into 2027. DigiTimes reported that Apple raised its 12-month shipment target by 44% to 14 million units, up from an initial 9.7 million. iPhone Duo preorder surge prompts Apple to raise shipment targets
• Positive Sentiment: The foldable launches Friday with supply constrained. Limited store inventory, combined with online backorders, could support near-term pricing power and signal meaningful demand for a new premium product category. Apple bets iPhone Duo can remake foldable market
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is increasingly viewed as an AI “safe haven.” Investors are favoring the company’s substantial cash generation and device-focused AI strategy over rivals committing enormous sums to centralized data centers. Berkshire Hathaway’s continued large Apple holding also reinforces the stock’s defensive appeal. Apple’s Cash Flow Machine Makes It Investors’ Favorite AI Hedge
• Positive Sentiment: Additional growth opportunities are emerging. Apple is expanding its smart-home ecosystem with Schneider Electric and has another product event scheduled for October 28, potentially providing further catalysts. Schneider Electric teams up with Apple on smart-home products
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains the key debate. Apple’s approximately 40 times earnings multiple and $5 trillion valuation leave investors dependent on strong holiday sales, expanding margins and sustained product growth. Analysts remain divided, with some projecting another major growth phase while others see limited upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Loop Capital downgraded AAPL to Hold over valuation and concerns about iPhone shipment prospects, creating a counterweight to the upbeat foldable-phone reports. Apple slips as Loop Capital downgrades on iPhone shipment concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and ETF outflows add modest pressure. SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares worth about $815,000, while reports also cited net ETF selling and additional insider transactions. These trades are relatively small compared with Apple’s size but may reinforce valuation concerns.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.40, for a total value of $442,112.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,224,675.20. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total value of $480,309.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,051,831.95. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 286,853 shares of company stock valued at $95,477,342. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $348.22 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $328.91 and a 200-day moving average of $309.07. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.93, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.42 and a 52 week high of $348.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.