Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Sanders Morris Harris LLC

Sanders Morris Harris LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,601 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 76,558 shares during the period. Apple comprises 9.7% of Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lincoln Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the second quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 56,302 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,292,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Gainplan LLC raised its position in Apple by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Gainplan LLC now owns 6,622 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Pioneer Wealth Management Group raised its position in Apple by 99.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pioneer Wealth Management Group now owns 13,348 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,862,000 after purchasing an additional 6,640 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 62,480 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,079,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 21,803 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,309,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is increasingly viewed as a defensive Big Tech holding because it relies less on massive AI infrastructure spending than peers. Analysts also describe the company as an underappreciated AI beneficiary, supporting demand for the stock during technology-sector volatility. Apple Holds Firm as Investors Seek Big Tech’s Defensive Outlier
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming product catalysts—including a potential foldable iPhone, camera-equipped AI AirPods targeted for 2027, new Apple silicon and expanded Siri AI capabilities—could support a stronger product cycle. One analyst estimates foldable iPhone sales could reach 14 million units by 2027. Apple’s Foldable iPhone Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating ahead of incoming CEO John Ternus’s September 1 transition, while Redburn upgraded Apple. The bullish case centers on renewed innovation and stronger AI investment under new leadership. Apple Must Relearn How to Surprise Under New CEO Ternus
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Samsung are gaining share in India as higher chip costs pressure lower-priced Chinese smartphone competitors, potentially improving Apple’s premium-market opportunity. Chip Squeeze Hits Chinese Smartphones in India
• Neutral Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares for approximately $442,000, reducing her holdings by 3.59%. The transaction was disclosed in an SEC filing but is relatively small compared with her remaining stake.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Apple has become predictable and dependent on incremental improvements. The CEO transition creates execution risk, with Ternus expected to decide whether to materially increase spending to compete in AI. Apple Has Gotten Too Predictable
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that App Store commission revenue declined 18%, alongside continuing legal and regulatory challenges, raise questions about the durability of Apple’s high-margin Services growth. Apple’s App Store Commission Revenue Reportedly Drops

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.49, for a total transaction of $442,478.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,890,023.32. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents 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 a total of 2,994 shares of company stock worth $919,567 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $285.56 to $263.66 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. China Renaissance cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Apple from $276.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.53.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $311.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $310.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $286.89. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.78 and a 1-year high of $344.57. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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 $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio 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.