Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Sells 40,833 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Kestra Private Wealth Services reduced its Apple position by 3.8%, selling 40,833 shares in the second quarter. It still held 1,021,202 shares worth approximately $295.5 million, representing 3.2% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of Apple, with Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital and Morgan Stanley among the largest holders; each increased its stake in the reported period.
• Apple recently exceeded earnings expectations, reporting $2.02 in quarterly EPS and $109.42 billion in revenue, but investors remain focused on CEO succession, AI execution, rising component costs and legal risks. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $330.53 price target.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,021,202 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 40,833 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.2% of Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $295,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Apple by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s leadership handoff could support innovation: Ternus is a longtime hardware executive and product builder, while Cook will remain with Apple as executive chairman. Investors are also looking ahead to the company’s September 9 product event, which could feature new iPhones and other devices. Apple To Begin New Chapter With CEO John Ternus
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlight continuing operating strengths, including strong iPhone share, potential gains as global smartphone shipments weaken, robust recent earnings, and increased fiscal-year EPS estimates. Apple’s planned U.S. manufacturing and AI-server investment could also reduce tariff and supply-chain exposure. Global Phone Shipments Drop, but Apple Positioned for Record iOS Market Share Gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Cook’s departure is being viewed as both a successful succession plan and a major test. His final message endorsed Ternus and emphasized continuity, but investors will judge the new CEO quickly based on the fall product cycle, Siri and Apple’s broader AI strategy. John Ternus to lead Apple into the age of AI
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s AI strategy remains a key concern because it relies substantially on outside partners while rivals are perceived as farther ahead. At the same time, veteran executive Phil Schiller relinquished oversight of the App Store and product events, adding uncertainty during the CEO change. Apple's top App Store executive departs operational roles
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory costs reportedly prompted significant Mac and iPad price increases, potentially pressuring demand. Apple also disclosed allegations in a trade-secret lawsuit that an OpenAI employee accessed a circuit schematic, creating legal and competitive-risk headlines. Apple alleges OpenAI employee accessed circuit plans
• Negative Sentiment: Monday’s wider market selloff, linked to escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, also weighed on large technology stocks and added pressure to AAPL.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.95, for a total value of $447,457.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,576,357.55. The trade was a 3.72% 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 on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 4,433 shares of company stock valued at $1,367,024 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $316.85 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $225.95 and a 52 week high of $344.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $312.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm 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 was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given 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 price target of $330.53.

Apple 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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