Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: Howland Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings

Key Points

• Howland Capital Management cut its Apple stake 3.4% in the third quarter, selling 18,221 shares. It still held 512,713 shares worth about $170.7 million, making Apple its second-largest position.
• Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple shares, and the article reports several major investment firms also established new positions during the second quarter.
• Apple beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 11.7% year over year. Analysts’ average rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $343.74.

Howland Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 512,713 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 18,221 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 6.0% of Howland Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Howland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $170,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $30,443,242,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $13,658,359,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,588,946,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many Big Tech peers and recently reached record territory, with investors appearing to favor its restrained AI infrastructure spending compared with peers’ heavy investment. That approach may help preserve cash and margins, though it also raises questions about its AI competitiveness. Apple Is Holding Strong While Big Tech Sells Off. Is It Next?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple Intelligence cleared a regulatory step for use on tablets and laptops in China, potentially expanding the service’s reach in a key market. Apple Intelligence registers with Chinese regulator
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly holding capital spending steady while rivals accelerate AI infrastructure investment. This could support cash generation, but investors may also question whether the company is investing enough to keep pace in AI. Apple holds capex steady as peers accelerate AI infrastructure buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Binance warned that an iOS vulnerability could allow malicious apps to access data from other apps, potentially exposing crypto-wallet keys and credentials. Uncertainty over affected versions and whether updates resolve the flaw could create security and reputational concerns. Binance warns iOS flaw could expose crypto wallet keys
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of worker deaths at an Indian supplier and an ensuing investigation raise potential supply-chain, operational and reputational risks as Apple expands manufacturing in India. Apple faces major supplier investigation after 3 worker deaths
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns and a reported memory-cost squeeze could pressure expectations. KeyCorp also cut its fiscal 2027 EPS forecast to $8.34 from $9.08 and maintains an Underweight rating with a $250 price target, well below the consensus forecast cited in the report. Apple Is Above $5 Trillion After Its First-Ever Close Above $350

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Apple from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a "buy" rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $343.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,280 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.40, for a total transaction of $442,112.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,224,675.20. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 business'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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 290,212 shares of company stock worth $96,639,685 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $348.56 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.52. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 12.04%.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS. The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple's devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.

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