Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Lessened by Provident Wealth Management LLC

Provident Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 62.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,795 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,212 shares during the quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the third quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 1,912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Forward LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Wealth Forward LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,438,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock traded down $1.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $342.37. The company had a trading volume of 44,660,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,928,536. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.42 and a 1-year high of $355.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $336.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $298.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $5.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 128.88%. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 12.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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, insider Ben Borders sold 1,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.40, for a total value of $442,112.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,224,675.20. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 291,651 shares of company stock worth $97,082,537 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target (up from $296.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Melius Research set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Moffett Nathanson set a $283.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Apple from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.74.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, with solid iPhone and Mac demand. Apple also says more apps optimized for its new foldable iPhone are coming, potentially improving the product’s appeal. Apple earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many chipmakers amid the AI-stock sell-off, and Bernstein raised its price target to $380 while maintaining a Buy rating. This relative strength may support investor sentiment. Apple holds up amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking about $7.5 billion through a bond offering. The financing provides flexibility, though the reports do not specify its use. The company is also limiting some employees’ AI-tool budgets, a move that could help control costs but raises questions about its internal AI investment. Apple bond sale report
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned of unprecedented memory-chip costs and supply constraints heading into the holiday quarter, putting gross margins at risk despite healthy demand. Investors are also weighing slower Services growth and Apple’s premium valuation. Memory costs and supply constraints

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS.

The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.