Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Sold by Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 426,645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 29,206 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.3% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $142,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. St. Clair Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 11.6% during the third quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC now owns 86,796 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,345,000 after purchasing an additional 9,025 shares in the last quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% in the third quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 1,912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. raised its stake in Apple by 3.3% in the third quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. now owns 8,921 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. raised its stake in Apple by 26.7% in the third quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 8,397 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,797,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First County Bank CT raised its stake in Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 29,947 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,973,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. The trade was a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold 286,853 shares of company stock worth $95,477,342 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $348.22 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $243.42 and a one year high of $348.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $328.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $309.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business’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 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong iPhone Duo demand is the main catalyst. Preorders for the $1,999 foldable reportedly sold out quickly, with delivery dates extending into 2027. DigiTimes reported that Apple raised its 12-month shipment target by 44% to 14 million units, up from an initial 9.7 million. iPhone Duo preorder surge prompts Apple to raise shipment targets
• Positive Sentiment: The foldable launches Friday with supply constrained. Limited store inventory, combined with online backorders, could support near-term pricing power and signal meaningful demand for a new premium product category. Apple bets iPhone Duo can remake foldable market
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is increasingly viewed as an AI “safe haven.” Investors are favoring the company’s substantial cash generation and device-focused AI strategy over rivals committing enormous sums to centralized data centers. Berkshire Hathaway’s continued large Apple holding also reinforces the stock’s defensive appeal. Apple’s Cash Flow Machine Makes It Investors’ Favorite AI Hedge
• Positive Sentiment: Additional growth opportunities are emerging. Apple is expanding its smart-home ecosystem with Schneider Electric and has another product event scheduled for October 28, potentially providing further catalysts. Schneider Electric teams up with Apple on smart-home products
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains the key debate. Apple’s approximately 40 times earnings multiple and $5 trillion valuation leave investors dependent on strong holiday sales, expanding margins and sustained product growth. Analysts remain divided, with some projecting another major growth phase while others see limited upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Loop Capital downgraded AAPL to Hold over valuation and concerns about iPhone shipment prospects, creating a counterweight to the upbeat foldable-phone reports. Apple slips as Loop Capital downgrades on iPhone shipment concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and ETF outflows add modest pressure. SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares worth about $815,000, while reports also cited net ETF selling and additional insider transactions. These trades are relatively small compared with Apple’s size but may reinforce valuation concerns.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $340.12.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.