Wealth Alliance LLC Sells 3,356 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Wealth Alliance LLC reduced its Apple position by 1.0%, selling 3,356 shares, but still held 338,664 shares worth approximately $85.95 million. Apple remains the firm’s largest holding, representing 8.5% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported quarterly results above expectations, with EPS of $2.02 versus the $1.89 consensus and revenue of $109.42 billion, up 16.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, yielding approximately 0.4% annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $328.60 price target, though opinions are mixed. Concerns include rising memory costs, potential iPhone price increases, supply-chain and geopolitical risks, and a recent Jefferies downgrade to “Underperform.”

Wealth Alliance LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 338,664 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,356 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 8.5% of Wealth Alliance LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Wealth Alliance LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $85,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Apple by 1.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th 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 period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $308.26 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.78 and a 12-month high of $344.57. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $309.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is testing memory chips from China’s CXMT for some iPhones and MacBooks sold in China. If approved by U.S. authorities, the move could provide an additional supply source and help mitigate shortages caused by surging AI-related demand. Apple tests China's CXMT memory chips
• Positive Sentiment: Some Apple-focused investors, including Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster, argue that the shares remain undervalued and that future iPhone price increases, artificial-intelligence features and a potential upgrade cycle could support longer-term growth. Gene Munster disagrees with Apple downgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is scheduled to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share on August 13 to eligible shareholders, providing a modest near-term shareholder return. Apple dividend payment
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple from Hold to Underperform and cut its price target to $263.66 from $285.56. Analyst Edison Lee reportedly believes Apple has scrapped a planned all-glass iPhone because of production challenges, removing a potential premium product that could have lifted average selling prices and profitability. Apple could underperform without an all-glass iPhone
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage costs are rising sharply amid the AI-driven supply crunch; reports suggest iPhone 18 production costs could increase by roughly 38%. Apple may need to raise prices, risking weaker demand, or absorb the costs, pressuring margins. Apple's iPhone 18 costs could jump 38%
• Negative Sentiment: The CXMT testing also introduces geopolitical and execution risks: U.S. restrictions could limit Apple’s access to the supplier, while CXMT’s capacity and technology may lag established memory manufacturers. These issues add uncertainty to Apple’s supply chain and pricing strategy.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Maxim Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. KeyCorp reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. HSBC upgraded shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.60.

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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