Cooper Financial Group Sells 5,935 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Cooper Financial Group reduced its Apple stake by 3.6%, selling 5,935 shares in the third quarter and retaining 156,820 shares valued at approximately $52.2 million. Apple remains the fund’s fourth-largest holding and represents 4.2% of its portfolio.
• Apple shares opened at $342, giving the company a market capitalization near $5 trillion; the stock was down 0.3%. The company recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue up 16.4% year over year and EPS of $2.02 versus the $1.89 consensus.
• Investor sentiment is broadly positive, with analysts assigning Apple a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $340.39 target price, but risks include elevated valuation, concerns about AI competitiveness, reported iPhone order reductions, litigation exposure and continued insider selling.

Cooper Financial Group cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,820 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,935 shares during the period. Apple makes up 4.2% of Cooper Financial Group's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Cooper Financial Group's holdings in Apple were worth $52,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avenir Tech Ltd acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 822.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 292,493 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 260,792 shares during the period. Finally, Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Meta Platforms are collaborating to let developers run Meta’s large Muse AI model locally on high-end Mac computers. The partnership could strengthen the Mac’s appeal for AI workloads while reducing reliance on cloud computing. Apple and Meta team up to make Muse AI model run on Mac computers
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the 7.6-inch iPhone Duo, begins preorders Friday. A successful launch could open a new premium product category and support revenue growth, although its high price makes demand uncertain. iPhone Duo preorders begin Friday
• Positive Sentiment: Apple recently closed above a $5 trillion market capitalization, reinforcing investor confidence and highlighting the stock’s recent momentum. Reports also indicate Apple Intelligence may finally launch in mainland China in December, expanding the potential user base. Apple tops $5 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: The China AI rollout is reportedly limited and may exclude the upgraded Siri and Genmoji features, making the launch strategically important but less compelling than a full-featured release. Apple Intelligence in China
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain concerned that Apple is spending less on AI than rivals and could fall behind in advanced assistants, while the stock’s elevated valuation leaves less room for execution disappointments. Reported iPhone 18 Pro component-order reductions add to demand concerns. Apple reportedly cuts iPhone 18 orders
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is challenging a $5.7 billion damages ruling in a patent case, while OpenAI alleges that a former employee who joined Apple took confidential information about an unreleased device. Both matters create potential financial and reputational risk. Apple challenges Taction damages ruling
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 Apple shares for approximately $828,000. The transaction is relatively small compared with Apple’s market value, but insider selling can add modest short-term pressure.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $342.00 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.42 and a 12-month high of $348.15. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $325.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $305.90.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $45,615,190.20. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.00, for a total transaction of $827,655.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,831,930. This trade represents a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 281,782 shares of company stock valued at $93,740,172 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $245.00 price target (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $303.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Loop Capital set a $380.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.39.

Apple Profile

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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