Northstar Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Northstar Asset Management reduced its Apple stake by 7.8% in the second quarter, selling 5,449 shares and retaining 64,819 shares valued at approximately $18.8 million. Apple remains 5.5% of the firm’s portfolio and its fourth-largest holding.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of Apple, with several major holders—including Nuveen, Amundi, Dimensional Fund Advisors and Swiss National Bank—increasing their positions.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $340.14 target price. Apple recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while shares opened at $333.02.

Northstar Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,819 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,449 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.5% of Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $18,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 75,000,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $20,389,750,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,121 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in shares of Apple by 23.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $18,547,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,780,080 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 58,554,032 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,858,200,000 after purchasing an additional 979,832 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 55,146,752 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,992,196,000 after purchasing an additional 704,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Apple by 6.1% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 43,134,968 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,947,224,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467,900 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.06, for a total transaction of $815,803.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 44,391 shares in the company, valued at $15,095,603.46. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 11,031 shares of company stock valued at $3,535,759 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citic Securities lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.14.

Apple Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of AAPL opened at $333.02 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.08. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $243.42 and a one year high of $345.34. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $321.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.21.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Counterpoint Research estimates Apple could sell approximately 6 million iPhone Duo foldable handsets in 2026, despite the device’s premium starting price of $1,999. Pre-orders reportedly begin October 16, with deliveries scheduled for October 23. Apple Predicted To Sell 6 Million iPhone Duo Handsets This Year
• Positive Sentiment: Early iPhone 18 Pro demand in China is encouraging: first-week sales rose 12% year over year, and Apple captured 33% of smartphone sales during the measured period. Analysts also see consumers showing greater willingness to pay for higher-priced models. Apple iPhone 18 Pro China Launch-Week Sales Rise 12%
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple will unveil a new smart-home hub at an October 13 event added to expectations for expansion beyond the iPhone. The company is also reportedly renewing its Qualcomm licensing agreement, supporting continuity for its device and connectivity roadmap. Apple Plans Smart-Home Push
• Positive Sentiment: Broader technology stocks benefited from cooler inflation data, which reduced near-term concerns about additional Federal Reserve rate hikes. Apple also received a favorable endorsement from Jim Cramer ahead of the Duo launch.
• Neutral Sentiment: New CEO John Ternus is reportedly considering an engineering-focused restructuring, faster product releases and fewer management layers. The changes could improve innovation and execution, but they introduce transition risk and may include layoffs as memory costs rise. Apple’s New CEO Plans Overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America warned that Meta’s Muse and other AI agents could divert product discovery, shopping activity and services revenue away from Apple’s ecosystem, increasing pressure on Siri, Apple Pay and the App Store.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple patched a zero-day vulnerability reportedly used in targeted attacks involving iPhone crypto wallets. In addition, a UK class-action case over marketplace restrictions was allowed to proceed, creating ongoing legal and reputational risks.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets 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 software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

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.