Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Pacifica Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Pacifica Partners reduced its Apple stake by 4.6% in the third quarter, selling 2,576 shares and retaining 53,966 shares valued at approximately $17.8 million. Apple remains the firm’s largest holding, representing 5.6% of its portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 67.73%, with several investment firms increasing their Apple positions during the quarter.
• Apple reported quarterly EPS of $2.02, beating estimates of $1.89, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year to $109.42 billion. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $340.39, though some firms recently downgraded the stock to neutral or hold.

Pacifica Partners Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,966 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,576 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 5.6% of Pacifica Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Pacifica Partners Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $17,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Emergent Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 2.0% in the third quarter. Emergent Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,636,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its stake in Apple by 6.9% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 1,870,967 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $617,281,000 after acquiring an additional 120,541 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 91,423 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $30,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,849 shares in the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 93,467 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $31,127,000 after purchasing an additional 10,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management increased its position in shares of Apple by 84.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dorato Capital Management now owns 1,113 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $343.46 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $325.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $306.58. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.42 and a fifty-two week high of $348.15. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the firm'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 value of $15,467,020.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. This trade represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 281,782 shares of company stock worth $93,740,172 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $304.00 target price (up from $270.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. HSBC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $366.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $355.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.39.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s $1,999 iPhone Duo reportedly sold out within minutes of preorders opening, with delivery estimates pushed into 2027. The response suggests strong pricing power and could establish a significant new premium product category. Apple blames extraordinary demand as foldable iPhones sell out
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI said the iPhone Duo’s extended lead times support its Buy rating and $380 price target. Investors view the launch as a potential catalyst for higher average selling prices and iPhone revenue. Apple early iPhone demand supports Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Meta are collaborating to run Meta’s 816-billion-parameter Muse Spark Open AI model locally on high-end Macs. The partnership may strengthen Mac demand for AI workloads and improve Apple’s AI positioning without requiring a competing mega-scale model. Apple and Meta team up on AI
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS cautioned that iPhone demand could weaken, highlighting the risk that strong initial foldable-phone interest may not translate into sustained volume. Apple’s roughly $5 trillion valuation also leaves the stock dependent on continued execution.
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators are preparing a legal fight that could require Apple to give competing payment providers access to technology behind Apple Pay’s tap-to-pay functionality. A forced opening could weaken the payments ecosystem and create compliance costs. Apple set for UK legal fight over tap-to-pay rules
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces ongoing concerns about lagging rivals in AI infrastructure and advanced assistants. Reports that some iPhone 18 Pro component orders were reduced add to questions about future handset demand.
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares worth approximately $828,000. The transaction is small relative to Apple’s size but represents another insider sale and may have modest signaling value.

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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