Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd Sells 8,000 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 52.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,150 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,000 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 0.9% of Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,659,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $52,266,468,000. 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: Apple’s Sept. 9 product event is generating significant interest under new CEO John Ternus, with expectations for new iPhones, an Apple Watch update and potentially the company’s first foldable iPhone. Citi estimates the foldable device could sell 7.3 million units despite a possible price above $2,000. Citi foldable iPhone sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed strong momentum, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year and earnings exceeding analyst expectations. Morgan Stanley has also suggested the foldable iPhone could contribute roughly $14 billion in December-quarter revenue if successfully launched. Morgan Stanley foldable iPhone estimate
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has succeeded Tim Cook as CEO, while Cook remains executive chairman. The transition offers continuity through a longtime Apple executive but raises questions about whether Ternus can accelerate Apple’s artificial-intelligence strategy and sustain Cook-era growth. John Ternus becomes Apple CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate initial foldable iPhone production was only a few hundred units per day in late August. Tight quality controls and memory shortages could limit launch supply, delay purchases and prevent Apple from fully capturing expected demand. Foldable iPhone production hurdles
• Negative Sentiment: Memory costs have reportedly surged, potentially forcing Apple to raise iPhone prices, absorb lower margins or risk weaker demand. Jefferies has also downgraded AAPL amid skepticism about the foldable product’s market potential. iPhone memory cost concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a $2.7 billion UK lawsuit over alleged unfair app-tracking rules and a separate BASF patent lawsuit involving facial-authentication technology, adding regulatory and litigation risk. Apple UK app-tracking lawsuit

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 5,872 shares of company stock worth $1,823,201 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research started coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $245.00 price objective (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, HSBC raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.61.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $319.97 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $315.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.34. 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 12-month low of $225.95 and a 12-month high of $344.57. The firm has a market cap of $4.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. 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.