Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Baron Wealth Management LLC

Baron Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,142 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,708 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 4.1% of Baron Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Baron Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $15,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the 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 directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total transaction of $442,852.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,342,929.25. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. KeyCorp restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. HSBC raised Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Apple in a report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $330.53.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $316.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 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's 50-day simple moving average is $309.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $286.52.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and bullish outlook: Rothschild & Co. Redburn upgraded Apple from “Neutral” to “Buy” and raised its price target to $400, implying substantial upside. Morgan Stanley also identified Apple among large-cap technology stocks showing a bullish technical signal. Apple stock upgrade and price target
• Positive Sentiment: Apple positioned as an AI and volatility hedge: Analysts argue that Apple’s restrained AI infrastructure spending limits capital-expenditure and valuation risk relative to peers committing hundreds of billions of dollars to AI. Some investors also view Apple as an underappreciated AI beneficiary through its installed base and potential improvements to Siri. Apple's low AI spending
• Positive Sentiment: Macro support: Retreating Treasury yields helped restore demand for mega-cap technology stocks, while Apple showed relative strength even as semiconductor shares and parts of the technology sector weakened. Apple stock and Treasury yields
• Positive Sentiment: Product optionality: Reports that a future foldable iPhone could support an estimated 11% increase in average iPhone prices provide a potential catalyst for revenue and margin growth, although the product remains unannounced. Apple foldable iPhone outlook

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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