Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by North Capital Inc.

Key Points

• North Capital reduced its Apple stake by 8.5% in the third quarter, selling 1,486 shares and retaining 15,918 shares valued at approximately $5.43 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Apple receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $340.59; several firms maintain Buy or Overweight ratings.
• Apple shares opened at $348.91, near their 12-month high, while the company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and 16.4% year-over-year revenue growth. Investors are also watching valuation and rising component-cost risks.

North Capital Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,918 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,486 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.9% of North Capital Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. North Capital Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $5,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Avenir Tech Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 822.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 292,493 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 260,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $118,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.59.

Apple Stock Up 1.5%

AAPL stock opened at $348.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.01, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.42 and a twelve month high of $351.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $332.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.96.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. Apple's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain optimistic ahead of earnings, citing strong demand for Apple’s new iPhone Duo, continued Services growth and potential AI-related momentum. Options activity also points to expectations for a post-earnings rally. Apple's Q4 Earnings Loom
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its Buy rating, while Monness raised its price target to $355. Apple is also attracting attention as it approaches Nvidia in market capitalization, with revenue growth described as its fastest in about five years. Apple Stock Heads Toward All-Time High
• Positive Sentiment: Apple launched its first touchscreen MacBook Pro, featuring OLED displays and M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The move expands the Mac product cycle and could support higher average selling prices, despite the premium starting price. Apple Shows First Touchscreen Laptops
• Neutral Sentiment: Forty-seven exchange-traded funds added to their Apple holdings, indicating continued institutional demand, although the purchases do not necessarily signal near-term changes in fundamentals. 47 ETFs Add to Apple Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face margin and valuation concerns. AI-driven flash-memory demand has sharply increased component costs, while Apple’s roughly 40-times earnings multiple leaves limited room for disappointing guidance. AI Has Made Flash Memory More Expensive
• Negative Sentiment: South Korea fined Apple and Google a combined $47.6 million over alleged unfair app-payment practices. Early reports of cracked iPhone Duo screens and an executive stock sale add smaller sources of investor caution. South Korea Fines Google and Apple

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.36, for a total value of $823,720.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,123,490.56. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 289,252 shares of company stock worth $96,301,063. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells 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 applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.

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