Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: Vann Equity Management LLC Reduces Stake

Vann Equity Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,961 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,275 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.8% of Vann Equity Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Vann Equity Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. City Center Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 6.1% during the third quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 7,551 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 74,138 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $24,689,000 after purchasing an additional 29,256 shares in the last quarter. Puff Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Puff Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,691 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,890,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 18,695 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,226,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,947 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total value of $806,495.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,116,870.56. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 281,782 shares of company stock valued at $93,740,172. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s $1,999 iPhone Duo reportedly sold out within minutes of preorders opening, with delivery estimates pushed into 2027. The response suggests strong pricing power and could establish a significant new premium product category. Apple blames extraordinary demand as foldable iPhones sell out
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI said the iPhone Duo’s extended lead times support its Buy rating and $380 price target. Investors view the launch as a potential catalyst for higher average selling prices and iPhone revenue. Apple early iPhone demand supports Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Meta are collaborating to run Meta’s 816-billion-parameter Muse Spark Open AI model locally on high-end Macs. The partnership may strengthen Mac demand for AI workloads and improve Apple’s AI positioning without requiring a competing mega-scale model. Apple and Meta team up on AI
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS cautioned that iPhone demand could weaken, highlighting the risk that strong initial foldable-phone interest may not translate into sustained volume. Apple’s roughly $5 trillion valuation also leaves the stock dependent on continued execution.
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators are preparing a legal fight that could require Apple to give competing payment providers access to technology behind Apple Pay’s tap-to-pay functionality. A forced opening could weaken the payments ecosystem and create compliance costs. Apple set for UK legal fight over tap-to-pay rules
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces ongoing concerns about lagging rivals in AI infrastructure and advanced assistants. Reports that some iPhone 18 Pro component orders were reduced add to questions about future handset demand.
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares worth approximately $828,000. The transaction is small relative to Apple’s size but represents another insider sale and may have modest signaling value.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $343.46. 59,879,121 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,324,512. The company has a fifty day moving average of $325.83 and a 200 day moving average of $306.16. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.42 and a 12 month high of $348.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.39, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

About Apple

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.