Constant Guidance Financial LLC Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Constant Guidance Financial LLC reduced its Apple stake by 24.3% in the first quarter, selling 4,468 shares and retaining 13,904 shares worth approximately $3.53 million. Apple remains 2.4% of the fund’s portfolio and its sixth-largest holding.
• Other major institutions, including Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital and Morgan Stanley, increased their Apple positions, while institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of the stock.
• Apple reported a strong latest quarter, with revenue up 16.4% year over year and EPS of $2.02 exceeding estimates; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $328.60.

Constant Guidance Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 24.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,904 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,468 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.4% of Constant Guidance Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Constant Guidance Financial LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $3,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is testing DRAM chips from China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) for iPhones and MacBooks and has discussed potential supply arrangements. Diversifying memory suppliers could reduce shortages and limit cost pressure, although geopolitical and quality-control risks remain. Apple’s CXMT Bet Could Strengthen Its Memory Supply, But Risks Remain
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly in talks with publishers to license content for an AI-powered Siri. Access to current, high-quality information could improve Siri as Apple prepares a major AI-focused iPhone software update. Apple in Talks to Pay Publishers to Improve AI-Powered Siri
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter remained strong, with revenue up 16.4% year over year and earnings exceeding consensus estimates. Some investors also view the recent pullback as an accumulation opportunity, while Crake Asset Management reportedly increased its Apple position.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple hired former American Airlines executive Nate Gatten to lead government affairs, highlighting the importance of tariffs, regulation and White House relations. The appointment could improve policy execution but also underscores heightened political risk. Apple Hires Former American Airlines Executive to Lead Government Affairs
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Tim Cook is expected to hand leadership to John Ternus on September 1, while Apple Pay and Wallet chief Jennifer Bailey plans to retire in October. The transitions create execution uncertainty but may also mark a planned leadership refresh.
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies cut its Apple rating and price target, questioning whether the company has sufficient iPhone and AI momentum to justify its premium valuation. The firm also cited supply-chain concerns about a high-end all-glass iPhone and weaker average-selling-price growth. Apple Stock Falls After Jefferies Slashes Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Memory shortages driven by AI demand are raising Apple’s bill of materials and could pressure margins or force additional iPhone price increases. Google’s new Pixel 11 lineup also intensifies competition in AI-enabled smartphones. Apple additionally faces a class-action lawsuit alleging that its iCloud+ privacy claims misled consumers.

Apple Stock Down 0.9%

AAPL opened at $302.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.66, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.09. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $309.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.64. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.78 and a twelve month high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is 12.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Maxim Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $328.60.

About Apple

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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