SageGuard Financial Group LLC Sells 2,881 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 31st, 2026

SageGuard Financial Group LLC lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 139,881 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,881 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.7% of SageGuard Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. SageGuard Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $40,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 890.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% during 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 buying an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Positive Sentiment: Apple’s September 9 event will be the first major product launch under incoming CEO John Ternus. Expectations for the iPhone 18 lineup, camera improvements and a possible foldable iPhone are supporting sentiment. IDC reportedly expects more than 10 million foldable iPhone shipments in the first year, although that forecast remains speculative. Apple stock rises ahead of September event
Positive Sentiment: Apple is raising U.S. prices for Apple TV and Apple One subscriptions, in some cases by up to 20%. The increases could lift services revenue and margins, though investors will monitor customer retention and potential subscription churn. Apple raises subscription prices
Positive Sentiment: Walmart plans to add Apple Pay support across its U.S. stores and Sam’s Club locations by the end of 2026. Wider acceptance could increase Apple Pay usage and strengthen Apple’s payments ecosystem. Walmart to add Apple Pay support
Positive Sentiment: Recent results provide fundamental support: Apple reported quarterly EPS of $2.02 versus a $1.89 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year to $109.42 billion.
Neutral Sentiment: The CEO transition creates both opportunity and execution risk. Ternus’s product-design background is viewed favorably, but he will face an immediate test with the iPhone launch shortly after taking over from Tim Cook. Apple’s first iPhone launch under John Ternus
Negative Sentiment: Apple is eliminating roughly 147–200 jobs across Siri, machine-learning and Vision Pro teams while redirecting resources toward AI. The restructuring may improve focus, but it also highlights concerns about Siri’s delays and Apple’s position in generative AI. Apple layoffs in Siri and Vision Pro teams
Negative Sentiment: High expectations and a premium valuation leave less room for disappointing foldable-iPhone demand, AI progress or margins. Rising memory-chip costs could also pressure profitability.
Negative Sentiment: Apple SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares worth approximately $447,000. The sale is small relative to Apple’s size and may be routine, but it provides a modest negative sentiment signal. SEC Form 4 filing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.53.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Apple

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $319.70 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $225.95 and a 12-month high of $344.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $312.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.52.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.95, for a total value of $447,457.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,576,357.55. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 4,433 shares of company stock valued at $1,367,024 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Apple

(Free Report)

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.