Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $2.53 Billion Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management reduced its Apple stake by 3.4% in the second quarter, selling 307,990 shares. It still held 8.75 million shares worth approximately $2.53 billion, representing 2.4% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 16.4% year over year to $109.42 billion and EPS of $2.02, exceeding analyst expectations. The stock trades near $320, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $330.61 target price.
• Investor focus is shifting to Apple’s product event and potential foldable iPhone, but supply constraints, rising memory costs, skepticism from some analysts and ongoing lawsuits pose risks. Insiders have also sold shares, with 5,872 shares sold for about $1.82 million over the past 90 days.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,751,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 307,990 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.4% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.06% of Apple worth $2,532,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors 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 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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 5,872 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,201. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $319.97 on Monday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $315.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.59. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $225.95 and a 52-week high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $245.00 price target (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $285.56 to $263.66 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $330.61.

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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