Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors cut its Apple position by 5.7% in the first quarter, selling 9,097 shares and retaining 151,546 shares valued at approximately $38.4 million. Apple remains the firm's fifth-largest holding and represents about 2.3% of its portfolio.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive but mixed: Apple has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $328.60, despite recent downgrades citing AI momentum, product delays and rising component costs.
• Apple reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $2.02 per share and revenue of $109.42 billion, up 16.4% year over year. However, its roughly $4.46 trillion market capitalization and forward valuation leave the stock sensitive to execution and competitive pressures.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,546 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 9,097 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.3% of Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $38,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $365.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $285.56 to $263.66 in a research note on Monday. Phillip Securities lowered Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.60.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,342,929.25. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Apple

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.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $305.93 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.78 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The company's 50-day moving average is $308.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $4.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Apple 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.

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