Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Cuts Holdings

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,203,737 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 21,694 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.4% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $400,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 1,912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Evansbrook LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Forward LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Forward LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,438,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. The trade was a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,615,190.20. This trade represents a 25.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 291,651 shares of company stock worth $97,082,537. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, with solid iPhone and Mac demand. Apple also says more apps optimized for its new foldable iPhone are coming, potentially improving the product’s appeal. Apple earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many chipmakers amid the AI-stock sell-off, and Bernstein raised its price target to $380 while maintaining a Buy rating. This relative strength may support investor sentiment. Apple holds up amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking about $7.5 billion through a bond offering. The financing provides flexibility, though the reports do not specify its use. The company is also limiting some employees’ AI-tool budgets, a move that could help control costs but raises questions about its internal AI investment. Apple bond sale report
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned of unprecedented memory-chip costs and supply constraints heading into the holiday quarter, putting gross margins at risk despite healthy demand. Investors are also weighing slower Services growth and Apple’s premium valuation. Memory costs and supply constraints

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $342.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $336.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.50. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.42 and a 12-month high of $355.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. Apple’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $400.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.74.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS.

The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.