Apple Inc. $AAPL Holdings Lowered by Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd

Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 16.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 614,293 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 117,387 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.7% of Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $177,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 5,872 shares of company stock worth $1,823,201 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

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

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $319.97 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $315.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $225.95 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company 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 firm posted $1.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.