GoalVest Advisory LLC Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

GoalVest Advisory LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,868 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,351 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 0.6% of GoalVest Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its position in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.70.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple will turn Siri into a ChatGPT-style chatbot (reportedly using Google’s Gemini) later this year — a major AI product pivot that could re-accelerate services engagement and investor sentiment. Bloomberg: Apple to revamp Siri as a built-in chatbot
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is developing an AI wearable “pin” (screenless assistant) and racing to match OpenAI/others add another potential new hardware revenue stream and extend Apple’s AI narrative. Product optionality tends to support higher multiples if execution follows. TechCrunch: Apple developing an AI wearable
• Positive Sentiment: Counterpoint/market reports show Apple regained top smartphone share in China with >28% shipment growth in Q4 — a strong regional performance that supports iPhone unit/ASP assumptions going into earnings. Reuters/24/7 Wall St.: Apple’s surge in China
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support is building: Evercore added Apple to a tactical outperform list and bullish price targets (and other firms reiterated confidence), which can amplify any positive earnings surprise. Evercore reaffirmation / analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat and others argue Apple’s sell-off looks oversold technically (RSI at multiyear lows) and fundamentals remain intact — this sets up a potentially asymmetric upside into earnings if results beat. MarketBeat: Sell-off may be overdone
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple previews and threads outline accounting items and expectations ahead of the Jan. 29 report — important for short-term volatility but outcome-dependent. Zacks: Wall Street earnings expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer and other commentators are defending Apple/Big Tech exposure and debating the recent pullback — helpful for sentiment but not a direct fundamental driver. CNBC: Jim Cramer on Magnificent Seven
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple/Netflix Best Picture nomination and Funding Circle adding Apple Pay listings are PR/brand positives but unlikely to move the stock materially. Benzinga: Oscar nominations
• Negative Sentiment: Apple asked an Indian court to block the competition authority from seeking global financials in an app-store probe — prolonged regulatory fights could raise compliance costs and create uncertainty in a key growth market. Reuters: Apple asks Indian court to stop antitrust body
• Negative Sentiment: Apple China announced short-term discounts on products — could provide a sales boost but may signal promotional pressure or slowing near-term demand in the region. Reuters: Apple China discounts
• Negative Sentiment: Portfolio moves (e.g., Cypress Funds trimming ~29k shares) and macro shocks (tariff/geopolitical fears linked to market drops) add selling pressure into earnings season. TipRanks: Cypress Funds cuts stake

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $248.35 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $269.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.53. The stock has a market cap of $3.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week 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, 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 analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued 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 of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.92%.

Apple 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.