Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 536,598 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 34.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,043,726 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 536,598 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $264,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. PVG Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 208.0% in the 1st quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 9,571 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,429,000 after buying an additional 6,464 shares in the last quarter. Steelhead Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth $1,033,000. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.2% during the first quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 45,475 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,541,000 after acquiring an additional 5,301 shares during the period. S&A Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $4,836,000. Finally, LFG Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. LFG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,106 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,417,000 after purchasing an additional 6,331 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly training a China-specific large language model with Alibaba’s support. The initiative could bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese users, improve Apple’s competitive position against Huawei and reduce reliance on third-party AI models in a key market. Apple trains China-specific AI model
• Positive Sentiment: Apple opened an advanced manufacturing center in Houston that will support AI-server production, Mac mini assembly and workforce training. The facility reinforces Apple’s U.S. investment plans and may improve supply-chain resilience and relations with policymakers. Apple opens Houston manufacturing facility
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly received about $2.2 billion in tariff refunds. The cash recovery could offset some trade-related expenses and support near-term earnings and cash flow. Apple tariff refund report
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is discussing usage-based content agreements with publishers to improve the upgraded Siri’s access to current information. A stronger Siri could help narrow Apple’s perceived AI gap and support future services growth. Apple publisher talks for Siri
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple proposed a 15% commission on purchases made through external links in iOS apps amid its continuing legal dispute with Epic. The proposal could preserve some App Store revenue, but the final regulatory and legal outcome remains uncertain. Apple proposes external purchase commission
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s valuation remains demanding, with a market capitalization near $4.5 trillion and a forward earnings outlook that leaves the stock sensitive to execution. An insider sale by SVP Jennifer Newstead was disclosed, though such transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in corporate fundamentals. Apple insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple, citing concerns about the canceled or delayed all-glass iPhone concept, limited near-term AI momentum and rising memory-chip costs. Higher component prices could pressure margins and make it harder for Apple to justify its premium valuation. Jefferies Apple downgrade and iPhone concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s Pixel 11 is placing Gemini more deeply into the smartphone experience, raising the competitive stakes for Apple ahead of the iPhone 18 launch and Siri’s broader overhaul.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $245.00 price target (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total transaction of $442,852.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,342,929.25. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $305.93 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $308.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.40. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.78 and a 52-week high of $344.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

Apple Company 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.