Financial & Tax Architects LLC Sells 2,039 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Financial & Tax Architects LLC reduced its Apple stake by 12.8% in the third quarter, selling 2,039 shares and retaining 13,890 shares valued at approximately $4.625 million. Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $2.02 per share, exceeding the $1.89 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year to $109.42 billion. The stock opened at $343.83, near its 52-week high, with a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $340.59 price target.
• Insiders sold significant amounts of stock, including CEO John Ternus and SVP Deirdre O’Brien, primarily to cover tax obligations from vested equity awards; insiders sold 286,853 shares worth $95.5 million over the past 90 days.

Financial & Tax Architects LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,890 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,039 shares during the period. Financial & Tax Architects LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV lifted its stake in Apple by 1.6% in the third quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 1,912 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Evansbrook LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,054,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Forward LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Forward LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,438,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $343.83 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $331.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $295.51. 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 has a market capitalization of $5.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.43, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.42 and a fifty-two week high of $351.73.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. China Renaissance lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $329.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, 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 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 position. 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 90 days, insiders sold 286,853 shares of company stock worth $95,477,342. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple unveiled its first touchscreen MacBook Pro, featuring tandem OLED technology, up to 2,000-nit brightness, 120Hz refresh rates, and higher-end M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The launch could support Mac revenue, premium pricing and a broader hardware upgrade cycle. Apple Stock: Slip Despite MacBook Pro Launch With Tandem OLED Display
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains a modest tailwind. Monness, Crespi, Hardt raised its Apple price target to $355, while early iPhone 18 Pro sales were reportedly 3.1% above the prior model, including particularly strong growth in China. Wall Street Analyst Updates Apple Stock Target Ahead of Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is approaching its November 2 earnings report after a lengthy run of earnings beats. Investors are looking for evidence that iPhone demand, services growth and artificial-intelligence initiatives can justify a valuation near 40 times earnings. Seeking Clues to Apple Q4 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: The touchscreen MacBook Pro starts at approximately $2,899, raising concerns that premium pricing could limit adoption. Investors also face broader pressure from rising memory costs, expensive technology valuations and potentially higher interest rates. Apple's Touchscreen MacBook Pro Pushes Laptop Pricing Higher
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is offering replacements after reports that screens on its $1,999 foldable iPhone Duo cracked near the hinge. The issue threatens customer confidence and could increase warranty or recall costs just as the company launches a major new product category. Apple Shows First Touchscreen Laptops Amid Product Blitz
• Negative Sentiment: South Korea fined Apple and Google a combined $47.6 million for allegedly forcing developers toward their payment systems and delaying app reviews, adding to regulatory risks around Apple’s services business. South Korea Fines Google and Apple Over App Market Practices

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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