Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by SMART Wealth LLC

Key Points

• SMART Wealth LLC reduced its Apple stake by 15.8% in the second quarter, selling 2,593 shares and retaining 13,782 shares valued at approximately $3.99 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple’s stock.
• Wall Street maintains a broadly positive view of Apple, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.02, despite some hold and sell ratings.
• Apple reported quarterly revenue of $109.42 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and earnings of $2.02 per share, beating analyst expectations. Recent insider sales totaled 276,984 shares worth about $92.1 million, including sales made to cover tax obligations on vested equity awards.

SMART Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,782 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,593 shares during the period. SMART Wealth LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $3,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avenir Tech Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. ABS Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $376,168,000. Finally, Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Moffett Nathanson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $304.00 price target (up from $270.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.02.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total transaction of $806,495.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,116,870.56. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the company'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 transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. This represents a 25.32% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 276,984 shares of company stock valued at $92,116,025. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $332.89 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.42 and a 12 month high of $345.34. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.90.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given 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 is 12.39%.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned Siri overhaul could help restore investor confidence in its AI capabilities. The bullish case also rests on record Services revenue, a strong iPhone cycle and recent fiscal third-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16% year over year, with EPS rising 29%. Will Siri Overhaul Help Apple Restore Its AI Credibility?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is tightening Mac full-disk access controls to make AI-agent data requests more visible to users. The move may strengthen the company’s privacy differentiation as concerns grow about autonomous AI tools accessing personal information. Apple Makes It Tougher for AI Agents to Access Macs
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO John Ternus, SVP Deirdre O’Brien and insider Timothy Cook collectively sold approximately $87.8 million of AAPL shares. Each filing said the transactions covered tax-withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards, making them less indicative of a negative outlook, although the sales may add short-term headline pressure. Apple Insider Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Counterpoint expects roughly 6 million sales of Apple’s high-priced iPhone Duo this year, potentially representing at least $12 billion in hardware revenue. However, the late launch window and limited volume are not expected to materially change the broader AAPL investment case. Analyst Sees 6 Million iPhone Duo Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Apple is behind rivals in AI monetization and execution. Comparisons suggesting Microsoft could surpass Apple in market value by 2027 reinforce worries that AAPL’s premium valuation requires substantial AI progress. Microsoft Could Become More Valuable Than Apple
• Negative Sentiment: More restrictive Mac permissions could reduce the usefulness of AI agents or create friction for developers, potentially complicating Apple’s effort to make its ecosystem a leading AI platform. With AAPL trading at a relatively high earnings multiple, execution concerns may weigh more heavily on the 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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