Provident Wealth Management LLC Sells 6,212 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Provident Wealth Management cut its Apple stake by 62.1% in the third quarter, selling 6,212 shares and retaining 3,795 shares valued at about $1.26 million.
• Apple beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $2.10 and revenue of $114.48 billion, up 11.7% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $343.74.
• Investors face potential headwinds from rising memory-chip costs and supply constraints that could pressure margins, despite solid demand. Apple also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

Provident Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 62.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,795 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 6,212 shares during the quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Redwood Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Redwood Family Wealth LLC now owns 28,552 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $9,508,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc lifted its position in Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 12,047 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,012,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Blue Jean Financial LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Jean Financial LLC now owns 6,169 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone National Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone National Bank & Trust Co now owns 15,824 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,227,000 after buying an additional 5,228 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Seaport Research Partners cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. HSBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Citic Securities upped their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $343.74.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, with solid iPhone and Mac demand. Apple also says more apps optimized for its new foldable iPhone are coming, potentially improving the product’s appeal. Apple earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many chipmakers amid the AI-stock sell-off, and Bernstein raised its price target to $380 while maintaining a Buy rating. This relative strength may support investor sentiment. Apple holds up amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking about $7.5 billion through a bond offering. The financing provides flexibility, though the reports do not specify its use. The company is also limiting some employees’ AI-tool budgets, a move that could help control costs but raises questions about its internal AI investment. Apple bond sale report
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned of unprecedented memory-chip costs and supply constraints heading into the holiday quarter, putting gross margins at risk despite healthy demand. Investors are also weighing slower Services growth and Apple’s premium valuation. Memory costs and supply constraints

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total transaction of $480,309.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,051,831.95. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.40, for a total value of $442,112.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,288 shares in the company, valued at $13,224,675.20. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 291,651 shares of company stock valued at $97,082,537. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $1.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $342.37. 44,660,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,928,536. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $336.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $298.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.42 and a 1-year high of $355.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 128.88%. The business had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 9.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.04%.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS.

The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple's devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.

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