Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: Hengehold Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings

Key Points

• Hengehold Capital Management increased its Apple stake by 38.8% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 45,304 shares valued at approximately $15.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple insiders sold shares worth about $96.3 million over the past three months, including transactions by CEO Tim Cook and SVP Deirdre O’Brien to cover tax obligations related to vested equity awards.
• Apple faces both positive and negative catalysts: AI expansion, strong product demand and favorable analyst sentiment are balanced by rising memory costs, potential margin pressure and a demanding valuation near its yearly high. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $340.49.

Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 38.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,304 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 12,667 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.2% of Hengehold Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Hengehold Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $15,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. raised its stake in Apple by 3.5% in the third quarter. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 7,908 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,634,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 37,880 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,615,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC now owns 12,025 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,984,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Snider Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Apple by 69.4% during the 3rd quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 36,277 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,192,000 after acquiring an additional 14,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 35,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,137,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total value of $15,467,020.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. This represents a 25.32% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 289,252 shares of company stock valued at $96,301,063. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple acquired Ascension Labs, which operates as Ascend.io, gaining access to agentic artificial-intelligence talent and intellectual property. The deal supports Apple’s effort to strengthen its AI capabilities, although financial terms were not disclosed. Apple Acquires AI Firm Ascend.io Talent and Patents
• Positive Sentiment: Demand indicators remain supportive: the foldable iPhone Duo reportedly sold out quickly, orders are backed up, and Apple is positioned to benefit from strong iPhone, Mac and Services demand. Analysts including Bank of America and Goldman Sachs remain constructive, with BofA reiterating a Buy rating and a $370 price target. Analyst Reiterates Buy on Apple
• Positive Sentiment: The first touchscreen MacBook Pro, equipped with OLED displays and M5 Pro or M5 Max chips, expands Apple’s premium hardware lineup and could support a new product-cycle catalyst. Apple Shows First Touchscreen Laptops
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s earnings report is the immediate focus. Investors will look for evidence that revenue growth, Services momentum and AI investments can offset rising component costs and potentially slower holiday growth. Options activity suggests substantial volatility around the release. Apple November 2 Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: AI-related demand has sharply increased flash-memory prices, raising concerns that Apple’s gross margin will come under pressure. Qualcomm also indicated that Apple-related revenue is declining faster than previously expected, reinforcing concerns about the pace of future iPhone growth. AI Has Made Flash Memory More Expensive
• Negative Sentiment: At roughly 40 times earnings and near its yearly high, Apple has limited room for an earnings or guidance disappointment. A senior vice president’s repeated stock sales and a South Korean fine related to app-market practices add modest additional caution. Apple Insider Selling

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

AAPL opened at $344.63 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. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.42 and a 52 week high of $351.73. The business's 50 day moving average is $333.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.38. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. The company's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. CICC Research increased their target price on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.49.

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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