49,131 Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Gradient Investments LLC

Key Points

• Gradient Investments reduced its Apple stake by 9.8% in the third quarter, selling 49,131 shares and retaining 452,884 shares valued at approximately $150.8 million. Apple remains the fund’s third-largest holding, while institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of the company.
• Apple insiders sold 281,782 shares worth about $93.7 million over the past 90 days, including Tim Cook’s $63.8 million sale made to cover tax obligations related to vested equity awards.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with $2.02 in EPS and $109.42 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $340.39. The stock opened at $343.46 and trades near its 12-month high.

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 452,884 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 49,131 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 2.1% of Gradient Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $150,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Veracity Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 30,305 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 426.6% in the third quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 54,846 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $18,179,000 after purchasing an additional 44,431 shares in the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. increased its position in Apple by 10.4% during the third quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. now owns 21,378 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,119,000 after buying an additional 2,006 shares during the last quarter. Kaydan Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Apple by 35.4% during the third quarter. Kaydan Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,230 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,505,000 after buying an additional 3,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in Apple by 52.9% during the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 138,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $43,342,000 after buying an additional 47,921 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.00, for a total value of $827,655.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,831,930. This represents a 6.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total value of $63,846,078.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. The trade was a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 281,782 shares of company stock valued at $93,740,172. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

AAPL stock opened at $343.46 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.42 and a twelve month high of $348.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $5.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $325.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.16.

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 company had revenue of $109.42 billion during 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 was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s $1,999 iPhone Duo reportedly sold out within minutes of preorders opening, with delivery estimates pushed into 2027. The response suggests strong pricing power and could establish a significant new premium product category. Apple blames extraordinary demand as foldable iPhones sell out
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI said the iPhone Duo’s extended lead times support its Buy rating and $380 price target. Investors view the launch as a potential catalyst for higher average selling prices and iPhone revenue. Apple early iPhone demand supports Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Meta are collaborating to run Meta’s 816-billion-parameter Muse Spark Open AI model locally on high-end Macs. The partnership may strengthen Mac demand for AI workloads and improve Apple’s AI positioning without requiring a competing mega-scale model. Apple and Meta team up on AI
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS cautioned that iPhone demand could weaken, highlighting the risk that strong initial foldable-phone interest may not translate into sustained volume. Apple’s roughly $5 trillion valuation also leaves the stock dependent on continued execution.
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators are preparing a legal fight that could require Apple to give competing payment providers access to technology behind Apple Pay’s tap-to-pay functionality. A forced opening could weaken the payments ecosystem and create compliance costs. Apple set for UK legal fight over tap-to-pay rules
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces ongoing concerns about lagging rivals in AI infrastructure and advanced assistants. Reports that some iPhone 18 Pro component orders were reduced add to questions about future handset demand.
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares worth approximately $828,000. The transaction is small relative to Apple’s size but represents another insider sale and may have modest signaling value.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Loop Capital set a $380.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, September 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $303.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.39.

About Apple

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets 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 software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

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