Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd Sells 117,387 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 614,293 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 117,387 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.7% of Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $177,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total transaction of $456,177.39. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock worth $1,823,201 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $319.97 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $315.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.95 and a 12 month high of $344.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for 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%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple News Summary

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.61.

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.