Weiss Asset Management LP Sells 58,243 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Weiss Asset Management LP lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 55.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,140 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 58,243 shares during the quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Everest Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Apple by 21.1% during the first quarter. Everest Financial Group LLC now owns 82,933 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,048,000 after buying an additional 14,432 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in shares of Apple by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 2,851,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $723,684,000 after buying an additional 523,765 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,131 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,393,000 after buying an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Union Square Park Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,269,000. Finally, Van Diest Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 197.1% during the 1st quarter. Van Diest Capital LLC now owns 17,586 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,463,000 after acquiring an additional 11,666 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. DZ Bank cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, KGI Securities downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.60.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is testing memory chips from China’s CXMT for some iPhones and MacBooks sold in China. If approved by U.S. authorities, the move could provide an additional supply source and help mitigate shortages caused by surging AI-related demand. Apple tests China’s CXMT memory chips
• Positive Sentiment: Some Apple-focused investors, including Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster, argue that the shares remain undervalued and that future iPhone price increases, artificial-intelligence features and a potential upgrade cycle could support longer-term growth. Gene Munster disagrees with Apple downgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is scheduled to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share on August 13 to eligible shareholders, providing a modest near-term shareholder return. Apple dividend payment
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple from Hold to Underperform and cut its price target to $263.66 from $285.56. Analyst Edison Lee reportedly believes Apple has scrapped a planned all-glass iPhone because of production challenges, removing a potential premium product that could have lifted average selling prices and profitability. Apple could underperform without an all-glass iPhone
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage costs are rising sharply amid the AI-driven supply crunch; reports suggest iPhone 18 production costs could increase by roughly 38%. Apple may need to raise prices, risking weaker demand, or absorb the costs, pressuring margins. Apple’s iPhone 18 costs could jump 38%
• Negative Sentiment: The CXMT testing also introduces geopolitical and execution risks: U.S. restrictions could limit Apple’s access to the supplier, while CXMT’s capacity and technology may lag established memory manufacturers. These issues add uncertainty to Apple’s supply chain and pricing strategy.

Apple Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $308.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.78 and a twelve month high of $344.57. 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 fifty day moving average is $309.49 and its 200 day moving average is $283.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business’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 firm earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.