ARS Investment Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

ARS Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331,391 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 28,260 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 5.6% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $84,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Baker Boyer National Bank increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the second quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,695,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the second quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, SigFig Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. SigFig Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush set a $350.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup reissued 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 Apple in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $271.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $273.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.63. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The company has a market cap of $4.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.28, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple 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 owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly naming Apple as a long‑term rival in AI underscores investor interest in Apple’s AI roadmap and ecosystem positioning — a potential tailwind for Services and device differentiation. Why Sam Altman Sees Apple (AAPL) as the Real Rival to ChatGPT
• Positive Sentiment: Rumors that the AirPods Pro 3 could gain infrared cameras suggest faster hardware refreshes and new features for wearables — a boost to Apple’s product-cycle narrative and Services monetization potential. Apple’s (AAPL) AirPods Pro 3 May Soon Get Infrared Cameras
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings previews point to continued margin expansion and a projected high‑single‑digit rise in profitability for the upcoming quarter — supportive of near‑term earnings expectations. Apple Earnings Preview: What to Expect
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate governance update — Apple appointed Ben Borders as Principal Accounting Officer. Routine leadership changes can slightly reassure on controls but are unlikely to move valuation materially. Apple appoints Ben Borders as principal accounting officer
• Neutral Sentiment: General market commentary and search interest pieces (e.g., Benzinga lists) show continued retail attention on AAPL but don’t imply immediate fundamental change. EXCLUSIVE: December’s 12 Most-Searched Tickers On Benzinga Pro – Where Do Tesla, Micron, Apple Stock Rank
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple has cut Vision Pro production and pulled back marketing after weaker‑than‑expected demand. That reduces near‑term hardware revenue upside and raises questions on the timing of returns from spatial‑computing investments. Apple cuts Vision Pro production and marketing after weak sales
• Negative Sentiment: Raymond James resumed coverage but moved to a market‑perform (neutral) rating, explicitly flagging limited upside given current valuation — a sentiment that can temper momentum and institutional buying. Raymond James resumes Apple coverage, flags limited upside at current valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Opinion pieces and a multi‑factor analysis (Forbes and others) suggesting reduced exposure highlight valuation risk — investors may trim positions if they believe upside is capped relative to premium multiples. Is It Time To Reduce Exposure To Apple Stock?

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.