Kozak & Associates Inc. Sells 6,908 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Kozak & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,317 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,908 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.1% of Kozak & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Kozak & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co. Redburn upgraded Apple to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $400 from $260. The firm cited potential growth from a premium foldable iPhone and a strategic reset of Apple Intelligence, while suggesting Apple could use Nvidia’s open-source AI models to improve its position. Apple Stock Got an Upgrade. It Could Be the AI Gatekeeper.
• Positive Sentiment: Antitrust relief removes a legal overhang. Apple reportedly won significant relief in an antitrust battle, potentially reducing regulatory risk around its App Store and business practices. Apple Wins Major Relief in Antitrust Battle
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-iPhone event demand appears supportive. A KeyBanc survey indicated improving consumer spending ahead of Apple’s expected September product launch, providing a potential near-term catalyst for iPhone sales. Why Investors Should Consider Buying Apple Stock Ahead of Its September iPhone Event
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is changing European app-tracking consent rules following a German competition investigation. The changes may benefit Meta and advertisers, but could reduce some of Apple’s control over data-related monetization. Apple to change app data consent rules, German regulator says
• Negative Sentiment: Memory-chip sourcing is a growing risk. The Trump administration urged Apple not to buy Chinese memory chips because of national-security concerns. Complying could raise component costs, while defying the request could create political or supply-chain complications. Apple May Buy Chinese Memory Chips Despite US Request
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution concerns remain. At roughly $306 and about 35 times earnings, bearish commentary argues that much of Apple’s quality is already reflected in the price and that AI progress may not justify a higher multiple. Apple’s Red Flags Are Real and Signal Trouble
• Negative Sentiment: Security and App Store-management reports add reputational risk. Investigators reported an unusually large number of spyware alerts affecting Apple users, while DefiLlama said fake apps delayed its launch. Apple has also patched a critical macOS flaw exploited for cryptocurrency mining. Unprecedented number of Apple users received recent spyware alert

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,342,929.25. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. China Renaissance downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.53.

Apple Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $305.59 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.78 and a 52-week high of $344.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $309.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

About Apple

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.