Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Willis Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Willis Investment Counsel cut its Apple stake by 20.7% in the third quarter, selling 22,999 shares; it held 88,286 shares worth about $29.4 million at quarter-end.
• Apple topped quarterly earnings and revenue forecasts, reporting EPS of $2.10 and revenue of $114.48 billion, up 11.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment was mixed: Apple’s consensus rating remained Moderate Buy with a $343.74 price target, while some firms downgraded the stock amid valuation and operating-cost concerns.

Willis Investment Counsel lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 20.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,286 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 22,999 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.3% of Willis Investment Counsel's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in Apple were worth $29,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Apple by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 630,662,494 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $182,897,769,000 after buying an additional 28,321,085 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,443,242,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Apple by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $18,547,637,000 after acquiring an additional 13,780,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $330.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $343.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.40, for a total transaction of $442,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,224,675.20. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 291,651 shares of company stock worth $97,082,537. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $344.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $335.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.42 and a 12 month high of $355.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 125.35%. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is 12.39%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue of $114.5 billion and solid iPhone and Mac demand. The results support the view that product demand remains healthy. Apple shares fell despite a double beat in Q4
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its price target to $380 and kept a Buy rating, citing potential upside from Apple’s business prospects. Bernstein rating and price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking up to $7 billion through a bond offering. The borrowing adds financing flexibility, but the reports did not specify how proceeds would be used. Apple seeks about $7 billion from bond sale
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged memory-chip costs that could keep rising, along with supply constraints ahead of the December quarter. These pressures may weigh on margins even as demand remains strong. Supply constraints and rising memory costs
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also scrutinizing earnings quality: tariff refunds boosted reported profit metrics, making the underlying results less straightforward to assess. Investors revisit Apple earnings quality
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and valuation concerns add to the headwinds. DZ Bank cut Apple to Sell, while coverage also points to slower Services growth and a premium share valuation. DZ Bank downgrades Apple

Apple Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.