Sowa Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sowa Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 92,288 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,611 shares during the period. Apple makes up 12.4% of Sowa Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Sowa Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $26,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,576,357.55. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 4,433 shares of company stock valued at $1,367,024 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $285.56 to $263.66 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.61.

Apple Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $325.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.18. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $225.95 and a 12-month high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: John Ternus takes over with an encouraging product message: The longtime hardware engineering chief officially became CEO, while Tim Cook remains as executive chairman. Ternus reportedly told employees that a “huge” and “phenomenal” iPhone launch is coming next week, supporting expectations for strong product momentum and potential interest in a foldable iPhone. John Ternus hypes huge launch next week in first memo as Apple CEO
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is providing additional support: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and a $380 price target, citing an opportunity for Apple to achieve “device dominance” in the AI era. Rosenblatt also raised its target to $303, though it maintained a Neutral rating, underscoring the mixed outlook at current prices. Bank of America sees device dominance ahead
• Positive Sentiment: Services and Mac demand remain potential growth catalysts: Apple’s price increases for Apple TV and Apple One highlight ecosystem pricing power and could lift high-margin services revenue. Separately, reported shortages of high-memory Mac mini and Mac Studio models suggest developers and businesses may be using Apple Silicon for local AI workloads. Cook out, Silicon in: Will Ternus trigger Apple’s edge AI boom?
• Neutral Sentiment: Continuity may reduce transition risk: Cook’s $47 million compensation package as executive chair signals that he will remain influential, including on government and strategic matters. However, Ternus must establish authority while succeeding a CEO whose tenure produced extraordinary shareholder returns. Tim Cook to be paid $47 million as Apple’s executive chair
• Negative Sentiment: Key risks remain concentrated in AI, costs and valuation: Apple is still viewed as behind rivals in AI and faces pressure to improve Siri. Memory shortages could weigh on hardware margins, while shares trade near record levels at roughly 37 times earnings. Apple also faces an escalating trade-secret lawsuit with OpenAI, which has called the claims baseless. Apple enters John Ternus era as AI challenges and memory crunch intensify

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.