Next Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Next Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,623 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,723 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.0% of Next Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Next Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apple by 1.9% in 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 lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. KGI Securities downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.44.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $309.46 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $309.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $282.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $202.16 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: India proposed extending tax exemptions for equipment suppliers to contract manufacturers through 2041. The policy could support Apple’s effort to expand iPhone production in India and reduce reliance on China. India proposes extending tax breaks for contract manufacturing in a boost for Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bullish investors argue that Apple’s capital-light AI strategy could eventually pay off through its enormous installed base, device upgrades and Services ecosystem, without the infrastructure spending burden faced by hyperscalers. Apple’s AI Strategy Looks Different—Will It Pay Off?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s acquisition of PlasmaSolve could improve manufacturing simulations, device coatings and production yields, potentially supporting thinner and stronger future hardware. AAPL Stock Alert: What to Know as Apple Acquires PlasmaSolve
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple asked a U.S. court to block OpenAI and two former employees from using alleged trade secrets. OpenAI has responded by calling the case careless and publishing private communications; the dispute could affect OpenAI’s hardware plans but remains legally unresolved. Apple seeks preliminary injunction against OpenAI in trade secrets case
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also challenging a U.K. demand for access to encrypted user data. A favorable outcome could protect its privacy positioning, while prolonged regulatory litigation creates uncertainty. Apple launches fresh legal challenge against UK encrypted data access demand
• Negative Sentiment: The strongest pressure remains financial: Apple exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, but its outlook was viewed as disappointing. Higher memory and component costs, supply constraints, a Services revenue miss and delayed Apple Intelligence features have undermined confidence in near-term growth.
• Negative Sentiment: China Renaissance, DZ Bank and Phillip Securities downgraded AAPL, citing persistent memory inflation, supply risks and uncertainty over Apple Intelligence returns. With the stock trading around 35 times earnings and a PEG ratio above 2.6, investors are demanding substantial growth to justify the valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: The CEO transition adds execution risk. While some coverage views Cook’s departure as a well-prepared succession, investors will watch whether John Ternus can accelerate AI development and sustain Apple’s growth momentum.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.