Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Lessened by Caerus Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Caerus Investment Advisors reduced its Apple stake by 8.6% in the first quarter, selling 1,899 shares and retaining 20,082 shares valued at approximately $5.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $2.02 per share and revenue of $109.42 billion, exceeding analyst estimates; revenue increased 16.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $328.60, although concerns about Apple’s premium valuation, AI progress, rising component costs and competitive pressure remain.

Caerus Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,082 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,899 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.1% of Caerus Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $5,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JMG Financial Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Apple by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.0% in the first quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Investment Co boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total transaction of $442,852.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,107 shares in the company, valued at $12,342,929.25. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% 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. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $305.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $308.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.19. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $223.78 and a one year high of $344.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly training a China-specific large language model with Alibaba’s support. The initiative could bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese users, improve Apple’s competitive position against Huawei and reduce reliance on third-party AI models in a key market. Apple trains China-specific AI model
• Positive Sentiment: Apple opened an advanced manufacturing center in Houston that will support AI-server production, Mac mini assembly and workforce training. The facility reinforces Apple’s U.S. investment plans and may improve supply-chain resilience and relations with policymakers. Apple opens Houston manufacturing facility
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly received about $2.2 billion in tariff refunds. The cash recovery could offset some trade-related expenses and support near-term earnings and cash flow. Apple tariff refund report
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is discussing usage-based content agreements with publishers to improve the upgraded Siri’s access to current information. A stronger Siri could help narrow Apple’s perceived AI gap and support future services growth. Apple publisher talks for Siri
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple proposed a 15% commission on purchases made through external links in iOS apps amid its continuing legal dispute with Epic. The proposal could preserve some App Store revenue, but the final regulatory and legal outcome remains uncertain. Apple proposes external purchase commission
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s valuation remains demanding, with a market capitalization near $4.5 trillion and a forward earnings outlook that leaves the stock sensitive to execution. An insider sale by SVP Jennifer Newstead was disclosed, though such transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in corporate fundamentals. Apple insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple, citing concerns about the canceled or delayed all-glass iPhone concept, limited near-term AI momentum and rising memory-chip costs. Higher component prices could pressure margins and make it harder for Apple to justify its premium valuation. Jefferies Apple downgrade and iPhone concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s Pixel 11 is placing Gemini more deeply into the smartphone experience, raising the competitive stakes for Apple ahead of the iPhone 18 launch and Siri’s broader overhaul.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $276.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $328.60.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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.

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