44,278 Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 274,627 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 44,278 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 1.8% of Sterling Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $91,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 4.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 630,662,494 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $182,897,769,000 after acquiring an additional 28,321,085 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $30,443,242,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Apple by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,547,637,000 after buying an additional 13,780,080 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total value of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. The trade was a 5.55% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 292,611 shares of company stock worth $97,482,597. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.2%

Apple stock opened at $354.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $338.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.56. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $243.42 and a one year high of $359.37.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 125.35%. Apple’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.04%.

Latest Apple News

These are some of the AAPL news items that stood out recently:

• Neutral Sentiment: Google is bringing its Gemini assistant to Apple CarPlay, adding a new AI feature for iPhone users. The partnership may improve CarPlay’s utility, though the assistant is Google’s service rather than Apple’s. Google Brings Gemini Live to Apple CarPlay
• Negative Sentiment: Higher memory-chip prices are a near-term margin risk. Apple’s December-quarter gross-margin outlook was reported below analyst expectations, despite record quarterly sales, raising concerns that component costs could weigh on profitability. Why Apple Stock Fell Despite a Record Quarter
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts and investors view AAPL as expensive after its strong run, while recent coverage shows disagreement on the outlook, including a DZ Bank downgrade to Sell. Rich valuation leaves less room for disappointment. Apple Shares Look Expensive Heading into 2027

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Apple from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $370.00 to $330.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. CICC Research upped their price target on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Yorkville Ives began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $347.11.

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.