97,992 Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by BNP Paribas

Key Points

• BNP Paribas reduced its Apple stake by 21%, selling 97,992 shares and retaining 369,737 shares valued at approximately $106.1 million. Apple remains the fund’s eighth-largest holding and represents about 2.9% of its portfolio.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $340.14, although several firms recently downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• Apple reported quarterly revenue growth of 16.4% and earnings of $2.02 per share, beating estimates, while the stock traded near its 52-week high and continued paying a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

BNP Paribas trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 369,737 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 97,992 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.9% of BNP Paribas' holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. BNP Paribas' holdings in Apple were worth $106,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV raised its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 19,802 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,730,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $21,901,000. Prosperitas Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $14,658,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $2,257,000. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at $13,599,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. HSBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $366.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. KGI Securities downgraded shares of 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. China Renaissance lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $329.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.06, for a total transaction of $815,803.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 44,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,095,603.46. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,031 shares of company stock worth $3,535,759. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Counterpoint Research estimates Apple could sell approximately 6 million iPhone Duo foldable handsets in 2026, despite the device’s premium starting price of $1,999. Pre-orders reportedly begin October 16, with deliveries scheduled for October 23. Apple Predicted To Sell 6 Million iPhone Duo Handsets This Year
• Positive Sentiment: Early iPhone 18 Pro demand in China is encouraging: first-week sales rose 12% year over year, and Apple captured 33% of smartphone sales during the measured period. Analysts also see consumers showing greater willingness to pay for higher-priced models. Apple iPhone 18 Pro China Launch-Week Sales Rise 12%
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple will unveil a new smart-home hub at an October 13 event added to expectations for expansion beyond the iPhone. The company is also reportedly renewing its Qualcomm licensing agreement, supporting continuity for its device and connectivity roadmap. Apple Plans Smart-Home Push
• Positive Sentiment: Broader technology stocks benefited from cooler inflation data, which reduced near-term concerns about additional Federal Reserve rate hikes. Apple also received a favorable endorsement from Jim Cramer ahead of the Duo launch.
• Neutral Sentiment: New CEO John Ternus is reportedly considering an engineering-focused restructuring, faster product releases and fewer management layers. The changes could improve innovation and execution, but they introduce transition risk and may include layoffs as memory costs rise. Apple’s New CEO Plans Overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America warned that Meta’s Muse and other AI agents could divert product discovery, shopping activity and services revenue away from Apple’s ecosystem, increasing pressure on Siri, Apple Pay and the App Store.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple patched a zero-day vulnerability reportedly used in targeted attacks involving iPhone crypto wallets. In addition, a UK class-action case over marketplace restrictions was allowed to proceed, creating ongoing legal and reputational risks.

Apple Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $333.02 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $243.42 and a one year high of $345.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $321.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Apple Profile

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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