Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Skylands Capital LLC

Skylands Capital LLC decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,925 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.8% of Skylands Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avenir Tech Ltd purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 822.7% in the second quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 292,493 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 260,792 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $118,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, with solid iPhone and Mac demand. Apple also says more apps optimized for its new foldable iPhone are coming, potentially improving the product’s appeal. Apple earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many chipmakers amid the AI-stock sell-off, and Bernstein raised its price target to $380 while maintaining a Buy rating. This relative strength may support investor sentiment. Apple holds up amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking about $7.5 billion through a bond offering. The financing provides flexibility, though the reports do not specify its use. The company is also limiting some employees’ AI-tool budgets, a move that could help control costs but raises questions about its internal AI investment. Apple bond sale report
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned of unprecedented memory-chip costs and supply constraints heading into the holiday quarter, putting gross margins at risk despite healthy demand. Investors are also weighing slower Services growth and Apple’s premium valuation. Memory costs and supply constraints

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 291,651 shares of company stock valued at $97,082,537. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $342.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $355.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.50. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 125.35%. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Melius Research set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $350.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $303.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.74.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS.

The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.