Solstein Capital LLC Sells 4,993 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Solstein Capital reduced its Apple stake by 8.3%, selling 4,993 shares and retaining 55,347 shares valued at approximately $16.0 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Wall Street maintains a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.02, although some firms have downgraded the stock or lowered targets due to valuation and rising component costs.
• Apple recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while near-term catalysts include its fall product cycle and new AI-related safeguards. Risks include a $5.7 billion patent verdict, potential pressure on services from rival AI agents, and continued insider selling.

Solstein Capital LLC decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,347 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,993 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 5.3% of Solstein Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Solstein Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $16,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Jericho Financial LLP acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,650,000. Alpha Advisors LLC VA bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at about $8,793,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $1,063,526,000. Capital Square LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,201,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at about $75,771,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, September 25th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $355.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. KGI Securities cut shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.02.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total value of $806,495.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,116,870.56. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,430 shares of company stock worth $4,342,255. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is launching new safeguards designed to protect its devices from probing AI agents. The move may strengthen user trust and help preserve Apple’s security-focused ecosystem as agentic AI becomes more prominent. Apple Launches New Safeguards Against AI Agents
• Positive Sentiment: The fall product cycle remains a near-term tailwind. Morgan Stanley modestly raised its revenue forecast after Apple’s launches, while Counterpoint reportedly expects about 6 million sales of the $1,999 foldable iPhone Duo this year. New Apple Watch health features and potential smart-home products could also broaden the company’s ecosystem. Apple’s Fall Product Cycle Could Support Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating but lowered its price target to $355 from $360. Higher memory and component costs, along with possible iPhone pricing pressure, are offsetting much of the expected product-revenue benefit. Morgan Stanley Adjusts Price Target on Apple
• Negative Sentiment: A jury’s $5.7 billion patent verdict against Apple has raised concerns about potential ongoing royalties and pressure on hardware margins. Apple’s $5.7 Billion Patent Verdict Raises a Bigger Royalty Question
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain worried that AI agents from rivals such as Meta could bypass the App Store and weaken Apple’s high-margin services business. Analysts also see limited upside after Apple’s strong run and its relatively rich valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares valued at approximately $806,496, reducing her direct holdings by 5.4%. The transaction is small relative to her remaining stake but adds modest insider-selling pressure. Apple Insider Transaction Filing

Apple Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $333.69 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $322.16 and a 200 day moving average of $300.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $345.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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