Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,662,845 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 17,064 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.8% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $481,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Del Sette Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 93.1% in the second quarter. Del Sette Capital Management LLC now owns 10,082 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,917,000 after acquiring an additional 4,862 shares during the last quarter. Milford Funds Ltd. raised its holdings in Apple by 111.4% during the 2nd quarter. Milford Funds Ltd. now owns 1,144,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $331,119,000 after purchasing an additional 602,920 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,563,000. Arrien Investments Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arrien Investments Inc. now owns 3,055 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,472 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,835 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. DZ Bank downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.61.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, at John Ternus’s first major keynote as CEO. Analysts at Morgan Stanley estimate the foldable could represent a roughly $14 billion revenue opportunity if Apple can stimulate premium-device demand. Apple Faces Its Biggest iPhone Test in Years
• Positive Sentiment: Recent iPhone sales growth of more than 20% for three consecutive quarters, a large installed base and potential on-device artificial-intelligence features provide a favorable backdrop for the launch. Apple’s higher Apple TV and Apple One prices could also support Services revenue and margins. Apple’s New Mac Mini and Studio Bet Big on On-Device AI
• Neutral Sentiment: The leadership transition from Tim Cook to John Ternus is placing additional importance on Wednesday’s event. Investors are looking for evidence that Ternus can maintain Apple’s long-term innovation and shareholder-return record while emphasizing hardware development. Tim Cook Delivered a 2,720% Total Return
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s broad ecosystem and substantial cash generation remain important supports for the investment case, but the stock’s premium valuation means the market may already be pricing in a successful product cycle and strong demand.
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc warned that rising memory and component costs could force Apple to raise prices. Broad price increases could cause “sticker shock” and reduce unit volumes, while selective increases could pressure gross margins. KeyBanc Delivers Stark Warning on Apple Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Huawei and Xiaomi have introduced premium foldable devices ahead of Apple’s launch, intensifying competition—particularly in China, an important but challenging market for Apple. Huawei’s tri-fold Mate XT2 raises the bar on design and pricing. Huawei Unveils New Tri-Fold Smartphone
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a costly execution test: a premium foldable near $2,000 must generate meaningful incremental demand without weakening margins or cannibalizing existing iPhone sales. Disappointing specifications, pricing or guidance could weigh on the shares after the event.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total transaction of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,345,787.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 5,872 shares of company stock worth $1,823,201 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $319.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.95 and a 12 month high of $344.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $316.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.98.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio 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.