5,209 Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Bell Asset Management reduced its Apple position by 12.3% in the third quarter, selling 5,209 shares and retaining 37,090 shares worth approximately $11.8 million. Apple remains 4.3% of the firm’s portfolio and its fifth-largest holding.
• Apple insiders sold shares valued at roughly $93.7 million over the past 90 days, including transactions by Timothy Cook and John Ternus to cover tax obligations tied to vested equity awards.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.39. Apple’s latest quarterly results exceeded estimates, with EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $109.42 billion, up 16.4% year over year.

Bell Asset Management Ltd decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,090 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,209 shares during the period. Apple makes up 4.3% of Bell Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Bell Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $11,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Avenir Tech Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 822.7% in the second quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 292,493 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 260,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of the firm's 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. This trade represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% 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. Insiders sold a total of 281,782 shares of company stock valued at $93,740,172 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. KGI Securities cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.39.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $325.83 and its 200-day moving average is $306.16. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple Company Profile

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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