Sowa Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,065 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sowa Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,780 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,065 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 14.5% of Sowa Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sowa Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $25,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Argus set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Melius lifted their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.92.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $273.59 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple released a new AI model, sparking renewed optimism that the company can commercialize AI features across iPhone and services — a growth catalyst investors are rewarding. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge blocked Texas’s app store age‑verification law, and Apple announced it will pause changes tied to that law — removing near‑term compliance costs and legal uncertainty for iOS distribution. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street momentum: multiple firms have recently issued buy/overweight calls and raised price targets (median ~$305), and sector bulls (e.g., Wedbush) include Apple among 2026 AI winners — analyst upgrades/support help lift sentiment and flows. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple agreed to allow third‑party app stores in Brazil as part of a settlement — a structural change that could pressure App Store revenue over time but also resolves a regulatory dispute now. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market data on December short interest shows anomalies/zero values (likely a reporting error) — not a meaningful signal for intraday moves. (Source: short‑interest entries)
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal headwinds: reports flagged a €~? / $115M fine in Italy for alleged app‑market issues and ongoing scrutiny — small relative to Apple’s scale but a reminder of regulatory risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling activity remains elevated (multiple execs have sold shares in recent months) — creates modest negative headline risk and can weigh on sentiment even as fundamentals remain strong. Article Title

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.