Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Manitou Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Manitou Investment Management cut its Apple stake by 85% in the second quarter, selling 41,490 shares and retaining 7,322 shares worth approximately $2.1 million.
• Other institutional investors generally increased their Apple holdings, with hedge funds and institutions collectively owning 67.73% of the company.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, including $2.02 adjusted EPS and 16.4% year-over-year revenue growth, but faces concerns from rising component costs, AI competition, and a $5.7 billion patent verdict. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $340.02 price target.

Manitou Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 85.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,322 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 41,490 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 0.4% of Manitou Investment Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Manitou Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $2,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. 55 North Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 21.9% during the second quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,148 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,566,000 after purchasing an additional 4,706 shares during the period. Clark Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 118,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,182,000 after buying an additional 6,714 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in Apple by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 1,847,698 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $534,650,000 after buying an additional 7,129 shares during the last quarter. Evanson Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $78,097,000. Finally, Midwest Financial Network LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 11.7% in the second quarter. Midwest Financial Network LLC now owns 1,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is launching new safeguards designed to protect its devices from probing AI agents. The move may strengthen user trust and help preserve Apple’s security-focused ecosystem as agentic AI becomes more prominent. Apple Launches New Safeguards Against AI Agents
• Positive Sentiment: The fall product cycle remains a near-term tailwind. Morgan Stanley modestly raised its revenue forecast after Apple’s launches, while Counterpoint reportedly expects about 6 million sales of the $1,999 foldable iPhone Duo this year. New Apple Watch health features and potential smart-home products could also broaden the company’s ecosystem. Apple’s Fall Product Cycle Could Support Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating but lowered its price target to $355 from $360. Higher memory and component costs, along with possible iPhone pricing pressure, are offsetting much of the expected product-revenue benefit. Morgan Stanley Adjusts Price Target on Apple
• Negative Sentiment: A jury’s $5.7 billion patent verdict against Apple has raised concerns about potential ongoing royalties and pressure on hardware margins. Apple’s $5.7 Billion Patent Verdict Raises a Bigger Royalty Question
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain worried that AI agents from rivals such as Meta could bypass the App Store and weaken Apple’s high-margin services business. Analysts also see limited upside after Apple’s strong run and its relatively rich valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares valued at approximately $806,496, reducing her direct holdings by 5.4%. The transaction is small relative to her remaining stake but adds modest insider-selling pressure. Apple Insider Transaction Filing

Apple Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $333.69 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $345.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $322.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $300.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, September 25th. KGI Securities lowered Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Argus raised their price target on Apple from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.02.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total value of $806,495.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,116,870.56. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,430 shares of company stock valued at $4,342,255. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

About Apple

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

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