Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Cut by Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC

Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,480 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,326 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.1% of Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Apple by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co lifted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KGI Securities lowered Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.44.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: India proposed extending tax exemptions for equipment suppliers to contract manufacturers through 2041. The policy could support Apple’s effort to expand iPhone production in India and reduce reliance on China. India proposes extending tax breaks for contract manufacturing in a boost for Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bullish investors argue that Apple’s capital-light AI strategy could eventually pay off through its enormous installed base, device upgrades and Services ecosystem, without the infrastructure spending burden faced by hyperscalers. Apple’s AI Strategy Looks Different—Will It Pay Off?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s acquisition of PlasmaSolve could improve manufacturing simulations, device coatings and production yields, potentially supporting thinner and stronger future hardware. AAPL Stock Alert: What to Know as Apple Acquires PlasmaSolve
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple asked a U.S. court to block OpenAI and two former employees from using alleged trade secrets. OpenAI has responded by calling the case careless and publishing private communications; the dispute could affect OpenAI’s hardware plans but remains legally unresolved. Apple seeks preliminary injunction against OpenAI in trade secrets case
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also challenging a U.K. demand for access to encrypted user data. A favorable outcome could protect its privacy positioning, while prolonged regulatory litigation creates uncertainty. Apple launches fresh legal challenge against UK encrypted data access demand
• Negative Sentiment: The strongest pressure remains financial: Apple exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, but its outlook was viewed as disappointing. Higher memory and component costs, supply constraints, a Services revenue miss and delayed Apple Intelligence features have undermined confidence in near-term growth.
• Negative Sentiment: China Renaissance, DZ Bank and Phillip Securities downgraded AAPL, citing persistent memory inflation, supply risks and uncertainty over Apple Intelligence returns. With the stock trading around 35 times earnings and a PEG ratio above 2.6, investors are demanding substantial growth to justify the valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: The CEO transition adds execution risk. While some coverage views Cook’s departure as a well-prepared succession, investors will watch whether John Ternus can accelerate AI development and sustain Apple’s growth momentum.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $309.46 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $309.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.24. The company has a market cap of $4.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $202.16 and a 12-month high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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