Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by WestEnd Advisors LLC

WestEnd Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 201,961 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,220 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 1.2% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $51,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Letson Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Letson Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,612 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its stake in Apple by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 726,652 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after acquiring an additional 240,600 shares in the last quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 28,804 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,334,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 138,292 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,213,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 61,052 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $15,546,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. CLSA increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.70.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $248.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $269.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple will revamp Siri into a built‑in AI chatbot (ties to Google’s Gemini) reinforce an AI product roadmap that could drive services and device differentiation. This underpins investor hopes for meaningful product-led growth. Apple to revamp Siri as a built-in chatbot
• Positive Sentiment: Data and coverage showing Apple regained the top smartphone share in China and strong iPhone 17 demand suggest better-than-feared hardware revenue in the quarter, supporting revenue growth and ASPs. Apple’s Huge Surge in China
• Positive Sentiment: Chip/assembly supply diversification: Pegatron expects its first U.S. factory to be completed by end‑March with trial production soon after — a step toward geographic diversification of iPhone assembly that reduces concentration risk and political/tariff exposure. Apple and Dell supplier Pegatron expects US plant to be completed by end of March
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and outlets are leaning bullish ahead of Jan. 29 earnings (buy‑the‑dip takeaways, Evercore/other supports). Positive analyst notes and talk of an asymmetric risk/reward into earnings are helping sentiment. Should You Buy Apple Stock Before Earnings on January 29?
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the immediate catalyst — previews and models (Zacks, Seeking Alpha) highlight potential upside but also list accounting and mix items to watch; results will likely move the stock more than headlines. Apple Reports Next Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Moves to bring Apple Pay to India and new partners launching on Apple Pay (Funding Circle) are longer‑term growth drivers for services monetization but are execution/timing dependent. Apple Prepares to Bring Apple Pay to India
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk in India: Apple asked an Indian court to block the antitrust agency from seeking global financials — an escalation that can prolong regulatory uncertainty and potential fines or remedies. Apple asks Indian court to stop antitrust body from seeking its financials
• Negative Sentiment: Promotional discounts in China (up to ¥1,000 on select products) could signal competitive pricing pressure or the need to stimulate demand in the near term — a potential margin/headline risk. Apple China to offer discounts of up to 1,000 yuan on some products

About Apple

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.