Carmignac Gestion Trims Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Carmignac Gestion cut its Apple stake by 68.1% in the first quarter, selling 10,194 shares and retaining 4,785 shares valued at approximately $1.21 million.
• Apple reported quarterly EPS of $2.02, exceeding estimates of $1.89, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year to $109.42 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing a 0.4% yield.
• Despite strong institutional ownership and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $328.60 average price target, analysts cited concerns about limited near-term AI momentum, rising memory costs and uncertainty surrounding the all-glass iPhone concept.

Carmignac Gestion lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 68.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,785 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 10,194 shares during the quarter. Carmignac Gestion's holdings in Apple were worth $1,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $305.93 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $4.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50-day moving average is $308.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.40. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.78 and a 1-year high of $344.57.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple News Roundup

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 target price on Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. China Renaissance lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $328.60.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value 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. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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