Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Ascent Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Wealth Partners increased its Apple stake by 1.4% in the third quarter, adding 2,380 shares to bring its holdings to 167,966 shares, valued at about $55.9 million. Apple represents 5.4% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Apple, with an average price target of $347.11; ratings are mixed, including Buy, Hold, and Sell recommendations.
• Apple beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $2.10 and revenue of $114.48 billion, with revenue up 11.7% year over year. Shares opened at $356.27, while the article also flags valuation as a risk.

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 167,966 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,380 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.4% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $55,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. KeyCorp reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $350.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, HSBC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $347.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 292,611 shares of company stock valued at $97,482,597 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple News Roundup

These are some of the AAPL news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein cited Apple’s relatively defensive business as a safe haven amid an AI-sector selloff, helping attract investors as Nvidia weakness put pressure on technology stocks. Apple stock gains as Bernstein highlights safe-haven appeal
• Neutral Sentiment: HomeView is not launching in the EU because Siri AI is unavailable there, and early coverage has questioned Siri’s readiness. This could constrain the device’s initial reach and reception. HomeView launch coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a key risk: analysts have warned Apple trades at a premium, and views are divided, including a DZ Bank downgrade to Sell. A senior vice president also continued a pattern of scheduled share sales, a modest potential overhang. Apple valuation analysis

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $356.27 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $360.83. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $339.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.05. The company has a market cap of $5.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.28, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 125.35%. The business's revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.04%.

Apple Company Profile

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.

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