Key Capital Management INC Decreases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Capital Management INC reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,749 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,327 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 0.4% of Key Capital Management INC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Key Capital Management INC’s holdings in Apple were worth $795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted 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 worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s leadership handoff could support innovation: Ternus is a longtime hardware executive and product builder, while Cook will remain with Apple as executive chairman. Investors are also looking ahead to the company’s September 9 product event, which could feature new iPhones and other devices. Apple To Begin New Chapter With CEO John Ternus
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlight continuing operating strengths, including strong iPhone share, potential gains as global smartphone shipments weaken, robust recent earnings, and increased fiscal-year EPS estimates. Apple’s planned U.S. manufacturing and AI-server investment could also reduce tariff and supply-chain exposure. Global Phone Shipments Drop, but Apple Positioned for Record iOS Market Share Gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Cook’s departure is being viewed as both a successful succession plan and a major test. His final message endorsed Ternus and emphasized continuity, but investors will judge the new CEO quickly based on the fall product cycle, Siri and Apple’s broader AI strategy. John Ternus to lead Apple into the age of AI
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s AI strategy remains a key concern because it relies substantially on outside partners while rivals are perceived as farther ahead. At the same time, veteran executive Phil Schiller relinquished oversight of the App Store and product events, adding uncertainty during the CEO change. Apple’s top App Store executive departs operational roles
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory costs reportedly prompted significant Mac and iPad price increases, potentially pressuring demand. Apple also disclosed allegations in a trade-secret lawsuit that an OpenAI employee accessed a circuit schematic, creating legal and competitive-risk headlines. Apple alleges OpenAI employee accessed circuit plans
• Negative Sentiment: Monday’s wider market selloff, linked to escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, also weighed on large technology stocks and added pressure to AAPL.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $285.56 to $263.66 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.53.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.95, for a total value of $447,457.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,576,357.55. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% 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 sold 4,433 shares of company stock worth $1,367,024. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $316.85 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $225.95 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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 business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

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.