Persium Advisors LLC Sells 1,646 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Persium Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,833 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,646 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.2% of Persium Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Persium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avenir Tech Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $376,168,000. Finally, Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, September 25th. Evercore set a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Arete Research lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $305.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $303.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.39.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $342.00 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.42 and a 12-month high of $348.15. The company has a market cap of $4.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.22, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $325.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.90.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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. 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 revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total transaction of $806,495.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,116,870.56. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 281,782 shares of company stock valued at $93,740,172 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Meta Platforms are collaborating to let developers run Meta’s large Muse AI model locally on high-end Mac computers. The partnership could strengthen the Mac’s appeal for AI workloads while reducing reliance on cloud computing. Apple and Meta team up to make Muse AI model run on Mac computers
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the 7.6-inch iPhone Duo, begins preorders Friday. A successful launch could open a new premium product category and support revenue growth, although its high price makes demand uncertain. iPhone Duo preorders begin Friday
• Positive Sentiment: Apple recently closed above a $5 trillion market capitalization, reinforcing investor confidence and highlighting the stock’s recent momentum. Reports also indicate Apple Intelligence may finally launch in mainland China in December, expanding the potential user base. Apple tops $5 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: The China AI rollout is reportedly limited and may exclude the upgraded Siri and Genmoji features, making the launch strategically important but less compelling than a full-featured release. Apple Intelligence in China
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain concerned that Apple is spending less on AI than rivals and could fall behind in advanced assistants, while the stock’s elevated valuation leaves less room for execution disappointments. Reported iPhone 18 Pro component-order reductions add to demand concerns. Apple reportedly cuts iPhone 18 orders
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is challenging a $5.7 billion damages ruling in a patent case, while OpenAI alleges that a former employee who joined Apple took confidential information about an unreleased device. Both matters create potential financial and reputational risk. Apple challenges Taction damages ruling
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 Apple shares for approximately $828,000. The transaction is relatively small compared with Apple’s market value, but insider selling can add modest short-term pressure.

About Apple

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets 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 software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.