Argent Capital Management LLC Sells 11,714 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management reduced its Apple position by 3.7%, selling 11,714 shares in the third quarter but retaining 306,456 shares valued at approximately $102.1 million.
• Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple, while analyst sentiment remains favorable with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $340.39.
• Apple reported quarterly EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $109.42 billion, exceeding expectations, though its shares trade at a demanding valuation and face potential risks from supplier production cuts and intensifying competition.

Argent Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 306,456 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 11,714 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 0.7% of Argent Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $102,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avenir Tech Ltd purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $376,168,000. Finally, Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $303.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. KeyCorp restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.39.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple launched the $299 HomeView smart-home hub, featuring an upgraded Siri AI assistant, along with a new Apple TV 4K, HomePod mini 2, cameras, a video doorbell, smart lock, thermostat and other accessories. The products expand Apple’s ecosystem into the home and provide a potential new source of hardware and services revenue. Apple releases HomeView smart home hub with screen as showcase for Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric broaden the Apple Home Collection, including security, energy-management and access-control products that could increase engagement with iPhones, Apple Watches and other Apple devices. LG announces smart-home accessories developed with Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable. Bernstein reiterated a Buy rating with a $370 target, while JPMorgan raised its target to $360. Reports also indicate Apple’s iPhone market share reached 22% in the latest quarter, and iPhone 18 Pro demand may be stronger than last year. Bernstein reiterates Buy rating on Apple
• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge ordered OpenAI to provide hiring records and other materials in Apple’s trade-secrets lawsuit, potentially helping Apple investigate the recruitment of former employees and its claims against OpenAI. Judge orders OpenAI to turn over hiring records
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting iPhone Duo preorders on October 16. Strong purchase intent could support the stock, but pricing and delivery trends will be closely watched.
• Negative Sentiment: Some suppliers are reportedly cutting production of newer iPhone models, while shorter delivery windows for Pro models raise questions about demand. Apple’s shares also trade at a demanding valuation, leaving less room for disappointing December-quarter guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warn that SpaceX’s potential Starlink smartphone and Google’s expanding health-data platform could intensify competition in wireless services, wearables and ecosystem engagement over time.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $341.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.14, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $324.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.61. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.42 and a 12 month high of $348.15.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,615,190.20. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total value of $63,846,078.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. This trade represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold a total of 279,383 shares of company stock worth $92,912,517 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

About Apple

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets 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 software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

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