Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: Wealth Science Advisors LLC Decreases Stake

Wealth Science Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 15.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,677 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,833 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.4% of Wealth Science Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Wealth Science Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Oak Grove Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 95,627 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $31,846,000 after purchasing an additional 11,249 shares during the period. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,653,000 after buying an additional 2,675 shares during the last quarter. Capital Planning LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Capital Planning LLC now owns 21,919 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,299,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. jvl associates llc grew its position in Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 48,665 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,206,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA grew its position in Apple by 2.2% during the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 239,202 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $79,659,000 after buying an additional 5,136 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong iPhone Duo demand: Apple’s $1,999 foldable iPhone reportedly generated extraordinary preorders, with delivery estimates extending into January 2027. The response supports premium pricing and suggests the new product could become a meaningful growth catalyst. Apple’s $1,999 foldable phone is set to hit stores Friday
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming Mac launch: Apple scheduled its “Pro and Tell” event for October 28, where analysts expect new Macs and potentially the company’s first touchscreen MacBook. The event could provide a near-term catalyst and demonstrate momentum under CEO John Ternus. Apple announces product launch event for Oct. 28
• Positive Sentiment: Supply-chain and ecosystem investments: Apple committed up to $100 million to a U.S. titanium supplier to support iPhone production. Apple Wallet car-key support is also expanding to select General Motors vehicles, strengthening the company’s hardware and services ecosystem. Apple commits up to $100 million for U.S. titanium
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst outlook: Bank of America and JPMorgan maintained bullish ratings, citing iPhone Duo demand and long-term AI potential, while other analysts have become more cautious.
• Negative Sentiment: Downgrades and demand concerns: Loop Capital downgraded AAPL to Hold and cut its price target from $370 to $330, citing risks that iPhone shipments may not recover as expected. KeyBanc also flagged weaker upgrade intentions among consumers. Apple gets a downgrade from Loop Capital on fears of slow iPhone sales
• Negative Sentiment: Margin and valuation risk: UBS expects higher memory and component costs to pressure gross margins while iPhone growth slows. With Apple trading at a premium earnings multiple, investors may require stronger earnings or a new catalyst to support further gains. Apple faces gross margin pressure as UBS flags slowing iPhone growth

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. CICC Research boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $370.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $340.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total value of $15,467,020.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. This represents a 25.32% 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. Insiders have sold 284,454 shares of company stock valued at $94,662,594 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of AAPL opened at $339.50 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.42 and a twelve month high of $348.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $327.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.80.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells 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 applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.