Sound Income Strategies LLC Decreases Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sound Income Strategies LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 86,252 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,447 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.2% of Sound Income Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $21,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Seneca House Advisors raised its stake in Apple by 9.5% in the third quarter. Seneca House Advisors now owns 19,943 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,078,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 1,450,538 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $369,060,000 after acquiring an additional 53,657 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 66,647 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,196,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 174,473 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $44,426,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,691,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stores Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Federal judge denied a bid to block U.S. imports of certain Apple Watch models in a patent dispute, letting Apple continue shipments that protect near-term wearables sales and supply continuity. Apple (AAPL) Cleared to Keep Importing Watch Models amid Patent Dispute
• Positive Sentiment: Barron’s reports a surprise jump in China’s imports of foreign-branded mobile phones (iPhone exposure), which supports revenue upside and helps offset macro worries in Apple’s largest cyclical market. Apple Stock Ticks Up After a Surprise From China—and a Legal Win
• Positive Sentiment: High consumer-product satisfaction and continued endorsement from prominent investors/commentators (Jim Cramer highlighted Apple’s customer satisfaction edge), which supports brand resilience and premium pricing. Apple (AAPL)’s the Only One That Maintains High Consumer Product Satisfaction, Says Jim Cramer
• Positive Sentiment: Apple publicly released a new AI model and product-level AI improvements (including live translation features), signaling product-driving AI steps rather than a race to ship unpolished tools — a potential catalyst for Services and device differentiation. Apple Just Released a New AI Model. Should You Buy AAPL Stock Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and MarketBeat commentary point to steady upgrades and a material upside case into 2026 as Apple leverages iPhone strength and gradual AI rollouts. Apple: The AI Outlier (MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: User reviews of features like AirPods live translation (NYT) show incremental product wins that improve the ecosystem but are unlikely to move near-term earnings materially. How Well Does Apple’s Live Translation Work for Japanese? I Tested It in Tokyo.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting billionaires buying other AI stocks (possible future competitors or new leaders) is drawing headlines but doesn’t directly change Apple’s near-term fundamentals. Billionaires Are Buying an AI Stock That Could Be the Apple of the 2030s
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing narrative that Apple is a latecomer in generative AI creates valuation risk if investors re-rate tech leaders based on AI leadership; that debate may cap multiple expansion until clearer, product-level wins are delivered. Apple Doesn’t Need A Stronger AI Portfolio (Seeking Alpha)

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $273.40 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $272.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $283.36 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

Apple Company Profile

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.