Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Trimmed by Ledyard National Bank

Key Points

• Ledyard National Bank cut its Apple stake by 3.6% in the third quarter, selling 8,037 shares; it still held 216,900 shares worth about $72.2 million, Apple’s third-largest portfolio position.
• Apple’s latest quarter beat expectations, with earnings of $2.10 per share and revenue of $114.48 billion; revenue rose 11.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $343.74, while views range from a $380 target to an “Underperform” rating.

Ledyard National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 216,900 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 8,037 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 5.7% of Ledyard National Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Ledyard National Bank's holdings in Apple were worth $72,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the second quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.6% in the third quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 1,912 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,054,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Forward LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Forward LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,438,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many Big Tech peers and recently reached record territory, with investors appearing to favor its restrained AI infrastructure spending compared with peers’ heavy investment. That approach may help preserve cash and margins, though it also raises questions about its AI competitiveness. Apple Is Holding Strong While Big Tech Sells Off. Is It Next?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple Intelligence cleared a regulatory step for use on tablets and laptops in China, potentially expanding the service’s reach in a key market. Apple Intelligence registers with Chinese regulator
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly holding capital spending steady while rivals accelerate AI infrastructure investment. This could support cash generation, but investors may also question whether the company is investing enough to keep pace in AI. Apple holds capex steady as peers accelerate AI infrastructure buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Binance warned that an iOS vulnerability could allow malicious apps to access data from other apps, potentially exposing crypto-wallet keys and credentials. Uncertainty over affected versions and whether updates resolve the flaw could create security and reputational concerns. Binance warns iOS flaw could expose crypto wallet keys
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of worker deaths at an Indian supplier and an ensuing investigation raise potential supply-chain, operational and reputational risks as Apple expands manufacturing in India. Apple faces major supplier investigation after 3 worker deaths
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns and a reported memory-cost squeeze could pressure expectations. KeyCorp also cut its fiscal 2027 EPS forecast to $8.34 from $9.08 and maintains an Underweight rating with a $250 price target, well below the consensus forecast cited in the report. Apple Is Above $5 Trillion After Its First-Ever Close Above $350

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Apple from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $340.00 price objective (up from $296.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $343.74.

Apple Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $348.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $355.38. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $337.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $299.52.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued 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 is Thursday, November 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at $19,832,236.98. The trade was a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 290,212 shares of company stock worth $96,639,685. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Apple

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS. The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple's devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.

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.