Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Lowers Position

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,548,012 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 167,247 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.6% of Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,844,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sentinel Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sentinel Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Redstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.0% in the third quarter. Redstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 206,003 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $68,603,000 after buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 6.0% during the third quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. now owns 12,977 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,322,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Randall & Associates Wealth Management boosted its stake in Apple by 16.8% during the third quarter. Randall & Associates Wealth Management now owns 5,549 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,848,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $340.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was 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. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. The trade was a 29.90% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 291,651 shares of company stock worth $97,082,537. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AAPL traded down $1.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $342.37. The stock had a trading volume of 44,660,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,928,536. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $355.38. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.07. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $336.01 and its 200 day moving average is $298.50.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 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 company had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 9.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting Apple

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

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.