Sard Wealth Management Group LLC Sells 1,972 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sard Wealth Management Group LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,278 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,972 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.3% of Sard Wealth Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Sard Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its stake in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Melius Research set a $345.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $283.36 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $259.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $272.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 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 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.92%.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Late‑season strength in iPhone 17 demand suggests the handset cycle could keep Services and upgrade momentum intact — a near‑term revenue tailwind for AAPL. iPhone 17 Demand Lifts AAPL
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase will become the new issuer of the Apple Card, expanding Apple’s financial‑services ecosystem and potentially boosting Services engagement (though direct financial upside for Apple is likely modest). JPMorgan Chase becomes the new issuer of the Apple Card
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street commentators remain constructive — analysts raising targets and pundits like Jim Cramer arguing Apple deserves a premium multiple on its combination of iPhone strength and AI roadmap. That supports buy‑the‑dip narrative. Analyst lifts Apple stock target to $330
• Neutral Sentiment: Technicals and short‑term positioning: commentators point to an oversold setup and support levels that may produce a rebound, but that depends on catalysts (earnings cadence, AI product news). Stock Of The Day: Is Apple About To Bounce?
• Neutral Sentiment: Evercore and other research houses note overlooked strengths (services, iPhone demand) versus valuation worries — implies mixed near‑term outlook but continued conviction among some buy‑side firms. Apple’s stock falls for the eighth straight day
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory / app‑store risk: three Democratic senators urged Apple and Google to remove X and Grok after reports the AI tools enabled creation/sharing of sexualized images of minors — this raises content‑moderation and legal risk scrutiny tied to app‑store governance. Grok and X should be suspended from Apple, Google app stores
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and AI concerns: chatter about Apple lagging peers in AI, analyst downgrades and Alphabet surpassing Apple in market cap are pressuring sentiment and valuation multiples. Can Apple Enjoy a “Siri Surge” as Apple Catches Up in AI?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and some institutional portfolio rotations have been noted in recent filings, which can weigh on near‑term sentiment even if not indicative of fundamental deterioration. QuiverQuant Apple AI strategy and downgrades

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.