Apple Inc. $AAPL Holdings Trimmed by MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC

Key Points

• MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC reduced its Apple stake by 1.1%, selling 3,011 shares and retaining 276,797 shares worth approximately $80.1 million. Apple remains the firm’s second-largest holding, representing 18.4% of its portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 67.73%, with Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital and Morgan Stanley among the largest holders. Corporate insiders have sold 5,872 shares worth about $1.82 million over the past three months.
• Analyst sentiment is still broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $330.61 target price, although several firms recently downgraded the stock. Apple’s latest quarter showed 16.4% revenue growth and an EPS beat, while potential foldable-iPhone supply constraints, higher memory costs and litigation add risks.

MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 276,797 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,011 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 18.4% of MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $80,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total transaction of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,201. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $285.56 to $263.66 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $330.61.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Sept. 9 product event is generating significant interest under new CEO John Ternus, with expectations for new iPhones, an Apple Watch update and potentially the company’s first foldable iPhone. Citi estimates the foldable device could sell 7.3 million units despite a possible price above $2,000. Citi foldable iPhone sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed strong momentum, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year and earnings exceeding analyst expectations. Morgan Stanley has also suggested the foldable iPhone could contribute roughly $14 billion in December-quarter revenue if successfully launched. Morgan Stanley foldable iPhone estimate
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has succeeded Tim Cook as CEO, while Cook remains executive chairman. The transition offers continuity through a longtime Apple executive but raises questions about whether Ternus can accelerate Apple’s artificial-intelligence strategy and sustain Cook-era growth. John Ternus becomes Apple CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate initial foldable iPhone production was only a few hundred units per day in late August. Tight quality controls and memory shortages could limit launch supply, delay purchases and prevent Apple from fully capturing expected demand. Foldable iPhone production hurdles
• Negative Sentiment: Memory costs have reportedly surged, potentially forcing Apple to raise iPhone prices, absorb lower margins or risk weaker demand. Jefferies has also downgraded AAPL amid skepticism about the foldable product’s market potential. iPhone memory cost concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a $2.7 billion UK lawsuit over alleged unfair app-tracking rules and a separate BASF patent lawsuit involving facial-authentication technology, adding regulatory and litigation risk. Apple UK app-tracking lawsuit

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $319.97 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $225.95 and a 52-week high of $344.57. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $315.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.59. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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