Apple Inc. $AAPL is Argent Capital Management LLC's 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management trimmed its Apple stake by 6.2% in the first quarter, selling 22,947 shares and retaining 346,110 shares valued at approximately $87.8 million. Apple remains Argent’s ninth-largest holding, representing 2.8% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of Apple’s shares, with Vanguard, State Street, Geode and Morgan Stanley among the largest holders.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Apple carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $328.60 average price target. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and pays a $0.27 quarterly dividend.

Argent Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 346,110 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 22,947 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.8% of Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $87,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 buying an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Maxim Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. HSBC upgraded shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $328.60.

Apple Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $305.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.78 and a 52 week high of $344.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $308.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly training a China-specific large language model with Alibaba’s support. The initiative could bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese users, improve Apple’s competitive position against Huawei and reduce reliance on third-party AI models in a key market. Apple trains China-specific AI model
• Positive Sentiment: Apple opened an advanced manufacturing center in Houston that will support AI-server production, Mac mini assembly and workforce training. The facility reinforces Apple’s U.S. investment plans and may improve supply-chain resilience and relations with policymakers. Apple opens Houston manufacturing facility
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly received about $2.2 billion in tariff refunds. The cash recovery could offset some trade-related expenses and support near-term earnings and cash flow. Apple tariff refund report
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is discussing usage-based content agreements with publishers to improve the upgraded Siri’s access to current information. A stronger Siri could help narrow Apple’s perceived AI gap and support future services growth. Apple publisher talks for Siri
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple proposed a 15% commission on purchases made through external links in iOS apps amid its continuing legal dispute with Epic. The proposal could preserve some App Store revenue, but the final regulatory and legal outcome remains uncertain. Apple proposes external purchase commission
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s valuation remains demanding, with a market capitalization near $4.5 trillion and a forward earnings outlook that leaves the stock sensitive to execution. An insider sale by SVP Jennifer Newstead was disclosed, though such transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in corporate fundamentals. Apple insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple, citing concerns about the canceled or delayed all-glass iPhone concept, limited near-term AI momentum and rising memory-chip costs. Higher component prices could pressure margins and make it harder for Apple to justify its premium valuation. Jefferies Apple downgrade and iPhone concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s Pixel 11 is placing Gemini more deeply into the smartphone experience, raising the competitive stakes for Apple ahead of the iPhone 18 launch and Siri’s broader overhaul.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% 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, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total transaction of $442,852.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,342,929.25. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple 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.

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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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