DUTCH ASSET Corp Sells 2,511 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• DUTCH ASSET Corp cut its Apple stake by 29.8% in the third quarter, selling 2,511 shares. It held 5,920 shares worth about $1.97 million at quarter-end.
• Apple beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $2.10 and revenue of $114.48 billion, up 11.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a MarketBeat consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.74, though recent ratings include both upgrades and downgrades.

DUTCH ASSET Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 29.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,511 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 0.9% of DUTCH ASSET Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. DUTCH ASSET Corp's holdings in Apple were worth $1,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth about $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,443,242,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $13,658,359,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,588,946,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. This trade represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 291,651 shares of company stock valued at $97,082,537. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a "buy" rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. BTIG Research started coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Guggenheim set a $400.00 target price on Apple in a report on Tuesday. Two 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $343.74.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $344.17 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.42 and a 1-year 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 current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company's fifty day moving average price is $335.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.03.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

More 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

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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