Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: Old North State Wealth Management LLC Trims Holdings

Key Points

• Old North State Wealth Management cut its Apple stake by 18.6% in the third quarter, selling 5,993 shares; it retained 26,274 shares worth about $8.8 million, making Apple its fifth-largest holding.
• Apple’s latest quarterly results beat estimates: EPS was $2.10 versus $1.99 expected, and revenue rose 11.7% year over year to $114.48 billion.
• Analyst views are mixed but lean positive: Apple has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $347.11 average price target, while China Renaissance upgraded the stock to Buy with a $425 target.

Old North State Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,274 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,993 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.3% of Old North State Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Old North State Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $8,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospect Hill Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $146,370,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $168,646,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $482,388,000. Satovsky Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $16,064,000. Finally, Gouws Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 136.9% during the third quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 37,504 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,490,000 after acquiring an additional 21,676 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

Investors following AAPL have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: China Renaissance upgraded Apple to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $425, citing growth potential from Apple’s first foldable iPhone. The bullish outlook helped support shares. Analyst raises Apple price target to $425
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is rolling out Gemini Live on Apple CarPlay, bringing another conversational AI option to iPhone users’ cars. This adds functionality to the CarPlay platform, though it also highlights competition for Apple’s own assistant. Google brings Gemini Live to Apple CarPlay
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators argue the shares look expensive after a strong run, raising the risk that high expectations could limit further gains if growth or margins disappoint. Apple shares look expensive heading into 2027

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $340.00 price target (up from $296.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. China Renaissance upgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Melius Research set a $370.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $347.11.

Apple Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $355.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock's 50-day moving average is $337.88 and its 200-day moving average is $300.06. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $243.42 and a one year high of $355.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 12.04%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, 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 value of $15,467,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $45,615,190.20. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 290,212 shares of company stock worth $96,639,685. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple 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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