2,610 Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by Center For Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Center For Asset Management LLC increased its Apple stake by 16.6% in the third quarter, purchasing 2,610 shares and bringing its holdings to 18,300 shares valued at approximately $6.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple insiders sold substantial shares, including sales by executives Deirdre O’Brien and John Ternus to cover tax obligations on vested equity awards; insiders sold 289,252 shares worth about $96.3 million over the past three months.
• The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $340.49 average price target, but its valuation near 40 times earnings leaves limited room for disappointment amid margin pressure from rising memory costs and concerns about slowing iPhone growth.

Center For Asset Management LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,300 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,610 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.7% of Center For Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Center For Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $6,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avenir Tech Ltd acquired a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $376,168,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $118,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,615,190.20. This represents a 25.32% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 289,252 shares of company stock worth $96,301,063. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple acquired Ascension Labs, which operates as Ascend.io, gaining access to agentic artificial-intelligence talent and intellectual property. The deal supports Apple’s effort to strengthen its AI capabilities, although financial terms were not disclosed. Apple Acquires AI Firm Ascend.io Talent and Patents
• Positive Sentiment: Demand indicators remain supportive: the foldable iPhone Duo reportedly sold out quickly, orders are backed up, and Apple is positioned to benefit from strong iPhone, Mac and Services demand. Analysts including Bank of America and Goldman Sachs remain constructive, with BofA reiterating a Buy rating and a $370 price target. Analyst Reiterates Buy on Apple
• Positive Sentiment: The first touchscreen MacBook Pro, equipped with OLED displays and M5 Pro or M5 Max chips, expands Apple’s premium hardware lineup and could support a new product-cycle catalyst. Apple Shows First Touchscreen Laptops
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s earnings report is the immediate focus. Investors will look for evidence that revenue growth, Services momentum and AI investments can offset rising component costs and potentially slower holiday growth. Options activity suggests substantial volatility around the release. Apple November 2 Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: AI-related demand has sharply increased flash-memory prices, raising concerns that Apple’s gross margin will come under pressure. Qualcomm also indicated that Apple-related revenue is declining faster than previously expected, reinforcing concerns about the pace of future iPhone growth. AI Has Made Flash Memory More Expensive
• Negative Sentiment: At roughly 40 times earnings and near its yearly high, Apple has limited room for an earnings or guidance disappointment. A senior vice president’s repeated stock sales and a South Korean fine related to app-market practices add modest additional caution. Apple Insider Selling

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Phillip Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.49.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $344.63 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.42 and a 1-year high of $351.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $5.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.07. The company's fifty day moving average price is $333.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $296.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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