18,456 Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Bender Robert & Associates

Key Points

• Bender Robert & Associates cut its Apple stake by 7.2%, selling 18,456 shares in the third quarter; it still held 238,711 shares worth about $79.5 million, making Apple its second-largest holding.
• Apple beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $2.10 and revenue of $114.48 billion, with revenue up 11.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remained broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and $343.74 average price target. However, rising memory-chip costs and supply constraints could pressure margins in the holiday quarter.

Bender Robert & Associates decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 238,711 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 18,456 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 15.6% of Bender Robert & Associates' holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Bender Robert & Associates' holdings in Apple were worth $79,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV increased its position 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 valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Forward LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Forward LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,438,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $355.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, China Renaissance cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $329.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $343.74.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $342.37 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.42 and a fifty-two week high of $355.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $4.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50 day moving average price is $336.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.50.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Thursday, November 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 291,651 shares of company stock valued at $97,082,537. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Apple News

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 Profile

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.

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