Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Lessened by Sonata Capital Group Inc.

Sonata Capital Group Inc. lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,525 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,899 shares during the period. Apple makes up 5.4% of Sonata Capital Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Sonata Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Avenir Tech Ltd bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 822.7% during the second quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 292,493 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 260,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $338.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $333.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.77. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.42 and a 52 week high of $351.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $4.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.49.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $114.48 billion, up 12% year over year and above the approximately $113.4 billion consensus estimate. Diluted EPS of $2.10 also exceeded expectations near $1.99. Apple results beat Wall Street expectations on strong iPhone sales
• Positive Sentiment: Growth was led by early demand for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, with iPhone revenue reaching $57.6 billion, up 17%, while Mac sales and Services also set records. Apple’s active installed base reached an all-time high, supporting its ecosystem and recurring-revenue outlook. Apple Q4 earnings call: Ternus breaks down excellent quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Relatively light quarterly capital spending of $2.24 billion, below the expected $3.33 billion, reinforces Apple’s cash-generation and capital-discipline story as other technology companies spend heavily on AI infrastructure. Big quarterly beats after the close
• Neutral Sentiment: The report was the first under CEO John Ternus. His defense of Apple’s measured AI strategy may appeal to investors seeking profitable, product-focused AI development, but it leaves the company with less visible AI investment than major rivals.
• Negative Sentiment: China revenue fell short of projections, while iPad and Wearables, Home and Accessories sales missed estimates. These weaknesses offset the iPhone and Mac strength and raised concerns about regional and product-line momentum. New CEO John Ternus delivers an Apple earnings beat
• Negative Sentiment: Memory-chip inflation and component shortages threaten future gross margins. Apple’s inventory rose from $11.09 billion to $14.54 billion during the quarter, suggesting the company is stockpiling components but also tying up more cash. Apple inventory surges as memory chip costs climb
• Negative Sentiment: EPS benefited from a roughly $0.05-per-share tariff refund, and gross margin received an approximately one-percentage-point boost. Investors may therefore view part of the earnings beat as one-time rather than purely operational. Apple reports fourth quarter results

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. The trade was a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total value of $480,309.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,051,831.95. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 289,252 shares of company stock valued at $96,301,063 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.