First National Trust Co Sells 98,390 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• First National Trust Co. reduced its Apple stake by 17.9% in the second quarter, selling 98,390 shares and retaining 451,010 shares valued at approximately $130.5 million. Apple remains the firm’s third-largest holding and represents about 4.4% of its portfolio.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Apple receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $330.61, despite some recent downgrades to “Hold” or “Neutral.”
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, including 16.4% year-over-year revenue growth and earnings above expectations, but faces potential risks from foldable iPhone supply constraints, rising memory costs, and ongoing legal challenges.

First National Trust Co lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 17.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 451,010 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 98,390 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 4.4% of First National Trust Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. First National Trust Co's holdings in Apple were worth $130,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 890.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $330.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock worth $1,823,201. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Sept. 9 product event is generating significant interest under new CEO John Ternus, with expectations for new iPhones, an Apple Watch update and potentially the company’s first foldable iPhone. Citi estimates the foldable device could sell 7.3 million units despite a possible price above $2,000. Citi foldable iPhone sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed strong momentum, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year and earnings exceeding analyst expectations. Morgan Stanley has also suggested the foldable iPhone could contribute roughly $14 billion in December-quarter revenue if successfully launched. Morgan Stanley foldable iPhone estimate
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has succeeded Tim Cook as CEO, while Cook remains executive chairman. The transition offers continuity through a longtime Apple executive but raises questions about whether Ternus can accelerate Apple’s artificial-intelligence strategy and sustain Cook-era growth. John Ternus becomes Apple CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate initial foldable iPhone production was only a few hundred units per day in late August. Tight quality controls and memory shortages could limit launch supply, delay purchases and prevent Apple from fully capturing expected demand. Foldable iPhone production hurdles
• Negative Sentiment: Memory costs have reportedly surged, potentially forcing Apple to raise iPhone prices, absorb lower margins or risk weaker demand. Jefferies has also downgraded AAPL amid skepticism about the foldable product’s market potential. iPhone memory cost concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a $2.7 billion UK lawsuit over alleged unfair app-tracking rules and a separate BASF patent lawsuit involving facial-authentication technology, adding regulatory and litigation risk. Apple UK app-tracking lawsuit

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $319.97 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $315.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.59. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $225.95 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple Company Profile

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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