Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Rice Partnership LLC

Rice Partnership LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 180,887 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,946 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 6.4% of Rice Partnership LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Rice Partnership LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $52,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 40,543 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Sept. 9 product event is generating significant interest under new CEO John Ternus, with expectations for new iPhones, an Apple Watch update and potentially the company’s first foldable iPhone. Citi estimates the foldable device could sell 7.3 million units despite a possible price above $2,000. Citi foldable iPhone sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed strong momentum, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year and earnings exceeding analyst expectations. Morgan Stanley has also suggested the foldable iPhone could contribute roughly $14 billion in December-quarter revenue if successfully launched. Morgan Stanley foldable iPhone estimate
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has succeeded Tim Cook as CEO, while Cook remains executive chairman. The transition offers continuity through a longtime Apple executive but raises questions about whether Ternus can accelerate Apple’s artificial-intelligence strategy and sustain Cook-era growth. John Ternus becomes Apple CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate initial foldable iPhone production was only a few hundred units per day in late August. Tight quality controls and memory shortages could limit launch supply, delay purchases and prevent Apple from fully capturing expected demand. Foldable iPhone production hurdles
• Negative Sentiment: Memory costs have reportedly surged, potentially forcing Apple to raise iPhone prices, absorb lower margins or risk weaker demand. Jefferies has also downgraded AAPL amid skepticism about the foldable product’s market potential. iPhone memory cost concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a $2.7 billion UK lawsuit over alleged unfair app-tracking rules and a separate BASF patent lawsuit involving facial-authentication technology, adding regulatory and litigation risk. Apple UK app-tracking lawsuit

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. KGI Securities lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,345,787.90. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,201. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $319.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $315.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.34. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $225.95 and a one year high of $344.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.