Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by KFA Private Wealth Group LLC

KFA Private Wealth Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,976 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,649 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.4% of KFA Private Wealth Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at $65,950,297,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $30,443,242,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,472,482,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.61.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $319.97 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $225.95 and a 52-week high of $344.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $315.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.59. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Sept. 9 product event is generating significant interest under new CEO John Ternus, with expectations for new iPhones, an Apple Watch update and potentially the company’s first foldable iPhone. Citi estimates the foldable device could sell 7.3 million units despite a possible price above $2,000. Citi foldable iPhone sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed strong momentum, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year and earnings exceeding analyst expectations. Morgan Stanley has also suggested the foldable iPhone could contribute roughly $14 billion in December-quarter revenue if successfully launched. Morgan Stanley foldable iPhone estimate
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has succeeded Tim Cook as CEO, while Cook remains executive chairman. The transition offers continuity through a longtime Apple executive but raises questions about whether Ternus can accelerate Apple’s artificial-intelligence strategy and sustain Cook-era growth. John Ternus becomes Apple CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate initial foldable iPhone production was only a few hundred units per day in late August. Tight quality controls and memory shortages could limit launch supply, delay purchases and prevent Apple from fully capturing expected demand. Foldable iPhone production hurdles
• Negative Sentiment: Memory costs have reportedly surged, potentially forcing Apple to raise iPhone prices, absorb lower margins or risk weaker demand. Jefferies has also downgraded AAPL amid skepticism about the foldable product’s market potential. iPhone memory cost concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a $2.7 billion UK lawsuit over alleged unfair app-tracking rules and a separate BASF patent lawsuit involving facial-authentication technology, adding regulatory and litigation risk. Apple UK app-tracking lawsuit

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 5,872 shares of company stock worth $1,823,201 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.