Valley National Advisers Inc. Cuts Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Valley National Advisers Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,086 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 14,394 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.8% of Valley National Advisers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Worth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 17,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,421,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.7% in the third quarter. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,977 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,304,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC now owns 140,272 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,718,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the period. Great Oak Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Great Oak Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 13,678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,494,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,030.54. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $259.37 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $288.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $272.84 and its 200 day moving average is $246.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Wedbush set a $350.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.07.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Late‑season strength in iPhone 17 demand suggests the handset cycle could keep Services and upgrade momentum intact — a near‑term revenue tailwind for AAPL. iPhone 17 Demand Lifts AAPL
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase will become the new issuer of the Apple Card, expanding Apple’s financial‑services ecosystem and potentially boosting Services engagement (though direct financial upside for Apple is likely modest). JPMorgan Chase becomes the new issuer of the Apple Card
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street commentators remain constructive — analysts raising targets and pundits like Jim Cramer arguing Apple deserves a premium multiple on its combination of iPhone strength and AI roadmap. That supports buy‑the‑dip narrative. Analyst lifts Apple stock target to $330
• Neutral Sentiment: Technicals and short‑term positioning: commentators point to an oversold setup and support levels that may produce a rebound, but that depends on catalysts (earnings cadence, AI product news). Stock Of The Day: Is Apple About To Bounce?
• Neutral Sentiment: Evercore and other research houses note overlooked strengths (services, iPhone demand) versus valuation worries — implies mixed near‑term outlook but continued conviction among some buy‑side firms. Apple’s stock falls for the eighth straight day
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory / app‑store risk: three Democratic senators urged Apple and Google to remove X and Grok after reports the AI tools enabled creation/sharing of sexualized images of minors — this raises content‑moderation and legal risk scrutiny tied to app‑store governance. Grok and X should be suspended from Apple, Google app stores
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and AI concerns: chatter about Apple lagging peers in AI, analyst downgrades and Alphabet surpassing Apple in market cap are pressuring sentiment and valuation multiples. Can Apple Enjoy a “Siri Surge” as Apple Catches Up in AI?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and some institutional portfolio rotations have been noted in recent filings, which can weigh on near‑term sentiment even if not indicative of fundamental deterioration. QuiverQuant Apple AI strategy and downgrades

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.