Affinity Capital Advisors LLC Sells 7,656 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,119 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,656 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 7.3% of Affinity Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $62,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Trinity Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.9% in the third quarter. Trinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,369 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,786,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Fluent Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 2,665 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its stake in shares of Apple by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 136,380 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $45,005,000 after buying an additional 5,334 shares during the period. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94,133 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $31,209,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Finally, Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 195,668 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $64,304,000 after buying an additional 9,723 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. CICC Research upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, September 25th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.12.

Apple Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of AAPL opened at $348.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $243.42 and a one year high of $348.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.95, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $328.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. The firm's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total transaction of $480,309.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,051,831.95. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.40, for a total value of $442,112.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,288 shares in the company, valued at $13,224,675.20. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 286,853 shares of company stock valued at $95,477,342. 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: Strong iPhone Duo demand is the main catalyst. Preorders for the $1,999 foldable reportedly sold out quickly, with delivery dates extending into 2027. DigiTimes reported that Apple raised its 12-month shipment target by 44% to 14 million units, up from an initial 9.7 million. iPhone Duo preorder surge prompts Apple to raise shipment targets
• Positive Sentiment: The foldable launches Friday with supply constrained. Limited store inventory, combined with online backorders, could support near-term pricing power and signal meaningful demand for a new premium product category. Apple bets iPhone Duo can remake foldable market
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is increasingly viewed as an AI “safe haven.” Investors are favoring the company’s substantial cash generation and device-focused AI strategy over rivals committing enormous sums to centralized data centers. Berkshire Hathaway’s continued large Apple holding also reinforces the stock’s defensive appeal. Apple’s Cash Flow Machine Makes It Investors’ Favorite AI Hedge
• Positive Sentiment: Additional growth opportunities are emerging. Apple is expanding its smart-home ecosystem with Schneider Electric and has another product event scheduled for October 28, potentially providing further catalysts. Schneider Electric teams up with Apple on smart-home products
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains the key debate. Apple’s approximately 40 times earnings multiple and $5 trillion valuation leave investors dependent on strong holiday sales, expanding margins and sustained product growth. Analysts remain divided, with some projecting another major growth phase while others see limited upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Loop Capital downgraded AAPL to Hold over valuation and concerns about iPhone shipment prospects, creating a counterweight to the upbeat foldable-phone reports. Apple slips as Loop Capital downgrades on iPhone shipment concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and ETF outflows add modest pressure. SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares worth about $815,000, while reports also cited net ETF selling and additional insider transactions. These trades are relatively small compared with Apple’s size but may reinforce valuation concerns.

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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