Commonwealth Financial Services LLC Sells 3,800 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Commonwealth Financial Services cut its Apple stake by 14.7% in the third quarter, selling 3,800 shares; it retained 21,997 shares worth about $7.3 million at quarter-end.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $2.10 per share and revenue of $114.48 billion, beating analyst expectations; revenue rose 11.7% year over year.
• Apple declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 0.3%.

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,997 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,800 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.3% of Commonwealth Financial Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $7,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Ballast Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 51,028 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,993,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Boyd Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 58.1% during the third quarter. Boyd Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,579 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,524,000 after buying an additional 2,785 shares in the last quarter. tru Independence LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. tru Independence LLC now owns 35,600 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,856,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the third quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 44,376 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,778,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Apple by 1.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 2,406,363 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $801,367,000 after acquiring an additional 38,186 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $344.17 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.42 and a 52-week high of $355.38. The company has a market cap of $5.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.37, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm's 50-day moving average is $335.46 and its 200-day moving average is $298.03.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 125.35%. The company's revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 9.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue of $114.5 billion and solid iPhone and Mac demand. The results support the view that product demand remains healthy. Apple shares fell despite a double beat in Q4
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its price target to $380 and kept a Buy rating, citing potential upside from Apple’s business prospects. Bernstein rating and price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking up to $7 billion through a bond offering. The borrowing adds financing flexibility, but the reports did not specify how proceeds would be used. Apple seeks about $7 billion from bond sale
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged memory-chip costs that could keep rising, along with supply constraints ahead of the December quarter. These pressures may weigh on margins even as demand remains strong. Supply constraints and rising memory costs
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also scrutinizing earnings quality: tariff refunds boosted reported profit metrics, making the underlying results less straightforward to assess. Investors revisit Apple earnings quality
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and valuation concerns add to the headwinds. DZ Bank cut Apple to Sell, while coverage also points to slower Services growth and a premium share valuation. DZ Bank downgrades Apple

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. This trade represents a 25.32% 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. Insiders sold 291,651 shares of company stock valued at $97,082,537 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $303.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Apple from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $340.00 price objective (up from $296.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $343.74.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells 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 applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.

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