Sterneck Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sterneck Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,573 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,675 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 10.2% of Sterneck Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Sterneck Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scratch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Scratch Capital LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 11,030 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,192,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the second quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 229,050 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $66,278,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commons Capital LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the second quarter. Commons Capital LLC now owns 34,849 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,084,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $245.00 price objective (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.53.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 approximately $11,345,787.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 5,872 shares of company stock worth $1,823,201 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $316.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $316.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.35. The stock has a market cap of $4.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $225.95 and a 52-week high of $344.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. 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 previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 presently 12.39%.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is expected to introduce its first foldable iPhone, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Morgan Stanley estimates the foldable could ship about 6.5 million units in the December quarter and generate approximately $14 billion in revenue, creating a potentially significant new growth category. Apple’s foldable iPhone could add $14 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a Buy rating and a $380 price target, anticipating a roughly $2,099 foldable model and higher prices for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. Premium pricing could support revenue and margins if demand holds. Apple’s Wednesday event and Bank of America’s price target
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s acquisition of Sonera Magnetics, a company developing non-invasive neural-signal sensors, could strengthen its long-term health, wearable and human-computer-interface ambitions. The deal was completed in May but became public through a European Commission notice. Apple Purchases Neural Signal Sensor Company Sonera
• Neutral Sentiment: The launch is also the first major keynote for new CEO John Ternus. Investors will look for evidence that his leadership can accelerate hardware innovation while addressing Apple’s perceived artificial-intelligence shortcomings. Apple’s New CEO Has a Hardware Event and an AI Problem
• Neutral Sentiment: Historical analysis suggests Apple stock often has a muted or mixed reaction after major iPhone reveals, increasing the risk that strong results are already reflected in the valuation. Berkshire Hathaway’s continued large Apple position provides a supportive long-term signal but is not a near-term catalyst. How Apple stock usually reacts to big iPhone reveal events
• Negative Sentiment: AI data-center demand is diverting premium memory capacity away from smartphone components, potentially raising Apple’s costs and pressuring iPhone margins. AI diverts memory from phones
• Negative Sentiment: Huawei and Xiaomi have launched premium foldables ahead of Apple, raising competitive pressure—particularly in China. Analysts also warn that the stock could experience a “sell-the-news” reaction because expectations and valuation are high. Huawei launches a tri-fold smartphone ahead of Apple

About Apple

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its principal products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware products.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, Apple Pay and iCloud. These services provide digital content, payments, cloud storage and subscription offerings across the company’s ecosystem of devices.

Founded in 1976, Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California, and serves consumers, businesses, educational institutions and government customers worldwide.