New Covenant Trust Company N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 10.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,378 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,006 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.8% of New Covenant Trust Company N.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. New Covenant Trust Company N.A.’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Advocate Investing Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC now owns 7,847 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity
In other Apple news, insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total value of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total value of $806,495.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,116,870.56. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 281,782 shares of company stock worth $93,740,172. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Key Headlines Impacting Apple
Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Apple’s $1,999 iPhone Duo reportedly sold out within minutes of preorders opening, with delivery estimates pushed into 2027. The response suggests strong pricing power and could establish a significant new premium product category. Apple blames extraordinary demand as foldable iPhones sell out
- Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI said the iPhone Duo’s extended lead times support its Buy rating and $380 price target. Investors view the launch as a potential catalyst for higher average selling prices and iPhone revenue. Apple early iPhone demand supports Buy rating
- Positive Sentiment: Apple and Meta are collaborating to run Meta’s 816-billion-parameter Muse Spark Open AI model locally on high-end Macs. The partnership may strengthen Mac demand for AI workloads and improve Apple’s AI positioning without requiring a competing mega-scale model. Apple and Meta team up on AI
- Neutral Sentiment: UBS cautioned that iPhone demand could weaken, highlighting the risk that strong initial foldable-phone interest may not translate into sustained volume. Apple’s roughly $5 trillion valuation also leaves the stock dependent on continued execution.
- Negative Sentiment: UK regulators are preparing a legal fight that could require Apple to give competing payment providers access to technology behind Apple Pay’s tap-to-pay functionality. A forced opening could weaken the payments ecosystem and create compliance costs. Apple set for UK legal fight over tap-to-pay rules
- Negative Sentiment: Apple faces ongoing concerns about lagging rivals in AI infrastructure and advanced assistants. Reports that some iPhone 18 Pro component orders were reduced add to questions about future handset demand.
- Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares worth approximately $828,000. The transaction is small relative to Apple’s size but represents another insider sale and may have modest signaling value.
Apple Stock Up 0.4%
Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $1.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $343.46. 59,879,121 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,324,512. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $325.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $306.16. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.42 and a twelve month high of $348.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.07.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Apple Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 12.39%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Loop Capital set a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, September 18th. BTIG Research started coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Arete Research increased their target price on Apple from $305.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.39.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on AAPL
About Apple
Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets 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 software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.
Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.
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