Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 747,654 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,572,429 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 747,654 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 3.5% of Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.07% of Apple worth $2,692,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its position 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 valued at $39,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 205,656,808 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 98,917.0% in the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,106,000 after acquiring an additional 57,898,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. CLSA raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Melius Research set a $345.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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 Stock Up 0.3%

Apple stock opened at $248.35 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.53.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) 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.