Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 835,037 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 93,181 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.8% of Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $212,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Key Stores Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bull case: multiple firms lifted targets and reiterations point to upside from iPhone strength, services growth and potential AI monetization in 2026 — some price targets sit well above the current price, supporting a constructive view. Why Apple Might Attract More of an AI Multiple in 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Buybacks & revenue outlook: Apple’s large 2025 buyback program and guidance point to improving EPS and a return to stronger revenue growth into fiscal 2026, which supports valuation and long‑term upside. Apple Is Likely to Return to Double-Digit Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Options & range trading: Traders note AAPL has been rangebound; some market participants are generating income via selling out‑of‑the‑money puts (a neutral/constructive tactical trade if you expect limited near‑term downside). Shorting Puts Is The Best Play
• Neutral Sentiment: AI rotation theme: Market commentary highlights a shift from AI infrastructure to application‑layer winners; Apple is positioned as a distribution‑first player but is viewed as a later AI monetizer rather than an early infrastructure spender. The Application-Layer Rotation
• Negative Sentiment: Siri/AI execution concerns: Reporting says Apple missed a planned Siri generative‑AI update and faces perceptions of lagging rivals — this heightens investor worry that Apple must deliver compelling AI features to drive upgrades and multiple expansion. Apple needs to deliver an AI-charged Siri
• Negative Sentiment: Cautionary research and insider/large‑holder selling: Critical takes argue limited near‑term growth, and reporting shows significant sales by insiders and reductions by Berkshire/Buffett — both can weigh on sentiment and create selling pressure. The 76-Year-Old Reason Why Buffett Has Been Selling Apple & QuiverQuant insider/flow summary
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish/valuation concerns: Some articles warn limited upside near term and urge caution on growth expectations given heavy competition in AI and elevated multiples. Apple: Don’t Expect Much Growth Here

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Argus set a $325.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. CLSA boosted their price objective on Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% 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 Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $273.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $272.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $243.39. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.92%.

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.