Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: St. Clair Advisors LLC Raises Holdings

St. Clair Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,796 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,025 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 6.8% of St. Clair Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. St. Clair Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $28,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Prospect Hill Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $146,370,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $168,646,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $482,388,000. Satovsky Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $16,064,000. Finally, Gouws Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 136.9% in the third quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 37,504 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,490,000 after purchasing an additional 21,676 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. CICC Research raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on Apple from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.12.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $348.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. 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 fifty day moving average price of $328.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $309.07. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.42 and a fifty-two week high of $348.36.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. 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 12.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.62, for a total transaction of $814,748.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 34,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,817,077.90. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total transaction of $480,309.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,051,831.95. The trade was 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. Insiders have sold a total of 286,853 shares of company stock valued at $95,477,342 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Apple

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.