Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Reduced by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 198,490 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 64,204 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.1% of Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $57,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Paladin Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the second quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 12,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,517,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. FFG Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $207,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 28,077 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 63,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,248,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 71,400 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $20,660,000 after purchasing an additional 3,474 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $285.56 to $263.66 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. BTIG Research began coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.53.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $309.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $311.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $224.69 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New AI-focused Macs strengthen Apple’s edge-computing strategy. Apple launched updated Mac mini and Mac Studio desktops powered by the M6 and M5 Ultra chips, emphasizing local AI workloads. The M6 reportedly uses a 2-nanometer process, while the M5 Ultra supports large models with up to 512GB of unified memory. The products could expand Apple’s role in AI development without requiring the massive infrastructure spending undertaken by rivals. Apple announces new Mac Mini and Mac Studio models with AI upgrades
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore maintained an Outperform rating and $365 price target. The firm said the higher Mac mini prices appear justified by the performance improvements, providing a positive Wall Street signal even as AAPL trades at a demanding valuation. Apple Stock Reiterated as Outperform
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s capital-light AI approach is attracting investor interest. With technology shares exposed to concerns about an AI infrastructure spending race, Apple’s focus on on-device AI and its existing hardware ecosystem is being viewed as a relative advantage. Apple Rises as Investors Flee the AI Spending Arms Race
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple reversed a planned change to Hide My Email. Preserving the privacy feature may support customer trust, but the move is unlikely to materially affect near-term revenue or earnings. Apple rescues Hide My Email feature
• Negative Sentiment: Higher Mac prices and memory shortages could limit demand. The new Mac mini reportedly starts at $899, while the top Mac Studio configuration can cost substantially more. Persistent memory constraints could raise component costs and eventually contribute to higher iPhone prices, pressuring consumer demand and margins. Apple launches faster Mac mini and Mac Studio
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution and restructuring remain concerns. Apple is cutting more than 200 positions across Siri and Vision Pro while redirecting resources toward AI and smart glasses. The shift may improve focus, but it also highlights delays and uncertainty around Apple’s AI product roadmap. Apple cuts 200 jobs in Siri and Vision Pro
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation leaves limited room for disappointment. Around $310 per share, AAPL carries a market value above $4.5 trillion and a forward-looking growth profile that depends heavily on the next iPhone cycle. Analysts remain constructive, but investors are sensitive to evidence of slower growth, pricing pressure or weaker AI adoption.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.49, for a total value of $442,478.11. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,890,023.32. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% 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. Insiders sold a total of 2,994 shares of company stock valued at $919,567 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.