Profit Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Profit Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,014 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,686 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.6% of Profit Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Profit Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,415,932,804 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $290,506,933,000 after purchasing an additional 15,141,995 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $123,358,461,000 after buying an additional 5,224,229 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $72,506,336,000 after acquiring an additional 4,942,638 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 573,627.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $39,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 205,656,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $283.36 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wedbush set a $350.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.92.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $273.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $272.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 13.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors are pricing in a faster growth profile for Apple next year — a widely circulated take is that Apple is likely to return to double‑digit revenue growth in fiscal 2026, driven by iPhone strength and Services, supporting the bull case for multiple and earnings upgrades. Apple Is Likely to Return to Double-Digit Revenue Growth in Fiscal 2026 — and the Stock Looks Like a Buy
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights Apple as an “AI outlier” — a late but powerful entrant — noting steady analyst upgrades and price‑target raises, plus iPhone/service momentum that could sustain upside as AI features are rolled into consumer products. 5 Stocks Set to Start Strong in January and Lead Through 2026 (AAPL)
• Positive Sentiment: CNBC coverage of the Mag‑7 split frames a market that rewards companies that can monetize AI rather than simply spending heavily on capex — a setup that investors say favors distribution‑first players like Apple that can drive software/services revenue from a huge installed base. AI spend is forcing a Mag 7 reckoning — and the gap could widen in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer‑term AI theme pieces (the “application‑layer rotation”) argue capital is moving from chipmakers to software shops; Apple is mentioned as a potential beneficiary over time but is cast as a latecomer, so near‑term impact is uncertain. The Application-Layer Rotation: 3 AI Pure Plays Poised to Win in 2026 (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Performance roundups note Apple’s steady 2025 gains (year‑to‑date performance and a defensive, cash‑generative profile), a reminder that broader market positioning and index flows remain tailwinds but not new catalysts. $1,000 invested in Apple stock at the start of 2025 returned
• Negative Sentiment: Social and data‑driven summaries flag mixed sentiment around Apple’s AI model releases and continuing regulatory/legal scrutiny; the same QuiverQuant summary also highlights heavy insider selling over the last six months, which can sap near‑term sentiment even if fundamentals remain intact. Apple Inc. Stock (AAPL) Opinions on AI Model Release and Regulatory Updates

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.