Flaharty Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Flaharty Asset Management cut its Apple stake by 71.9% in the second quarter, selling 5,852 shares and retaining 2,284 shares valued at approximately $705,000.
• Other institutional investors generally increased their Apple holdings, with hedge funds and institutions collectively owning 67.73% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with Apple rated “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.53, while the company recently reported earnings and revenue above expectations.

Flaharty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 71.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,852 shares during the quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Worth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 7.1% in the second quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 19,715 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.2% during the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,213 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,585,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.8% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 502,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $145,263,000 after purchasing an additional 8,747 shares during the last quarter. Platt Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Apple by 18.8% during the second quarter. Platt Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 3.2% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 29,219 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,456,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $330.53.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Incoming CEO John Ternus is expected to reassess Apple’s research-and-development budget and potentially increase spending on AI. Analysts see stronger investment in Siri and other AI products as a way to close the gap with technology rivals. Apple Could Get a New R&D and AI Budget
• Positive Sentiment: Potential product catalysts include an AI-enhanced Siri expected later this year, camera-equipped AI AirPods targeted for 2027 and a foldable iPhone that one analyst estimates could sell 14 million units by 2027. Successful launches could support a major upgrade cycle. Apple Wants to Pay Publishers to Improve Siri
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s nationwide rollout of contactless payments will add Apple Pay acceptance across its U.S. stores, websites and apps. The move expands Apple Pay’s reach and strengthens Apple’s services ecosystem. Walmart Adds Apple Pay Nationwide
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity showed a modestly bullish bias, with calls outnumbering puts, while implied volatility remained below its 52-week median. However, the signal was not strong enough to establish a decisive near-term direction. Apple Options Sentiment
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s leadership change on September 1 is creating both opportunity and uncertainty. Bank of America maintains a Buy view but says Ternus must deliver more surprising products and technologies because the company has become increasingly predictable. Apple Must Relearn How to Surprise
• Negative Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut more than 200 positions tied to Siri and the Vision Pro headset while redirecting resources toward future devices. The restructuring may improve efficiency, but it also highlights execution challenges in AI and spatial computing.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have warned that Apple’s insulation from macroeconomic and competitive headwinds is fading. With shares trading at a high earnings multiple, investors may be less tolerant of slower growth, regulatory pressure and delays in AI products. Apple’s Immunity to Headwinds Is Fading
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple is quietly shifting attention toward China add geopolitical and demand risk, while its substantial tax settlement and filings highlighting large profits routed through Ireland could renew regulatory scrutiny.
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares under a prearranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction is relatively small and does not necessarily signal a change in fundamentals, but it provides a modest negative headline.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.49, for a total value of $442,478.11. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,668 shares in the company, valued at $11,890,023.32. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,994 shares of company stock valued at $919,567. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $309.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $224.69 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $310.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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