Verus Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

15 Aug 2026, 09:39 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

Verus Capital Partners LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 614,413 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 24,030 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 10.7% of Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $155,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly training a China-specific large language model with Alibaba’s support. The initiative could bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese users, improve Apple’s competitive position against Huawei and reduce reliance on third-party AI models in a key market. Apple trains China-specific AI model
Positive Sentiment: Apple opened an advanced manufacturing center in Houston that will support AI-server production, Mac mini assembly and workforce training. The facility reinforces Apple’s U.S. investment plans and may improve supply-chain resilience and relations with policymakers. Apple opens Houston manufacturing facility
Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly received about $2.2 billion in tariff refunds. The cash recovery could offset some trade-related expenses and support near-term earnings and cash flow. Apple tariff refund report
Positive Sentiment: Apple is discussing usage-based content agreements with publishers to improve the upgraded Siri’s access to current information. A stronger Siri could help narrow Apple’s perceived AI gap and support future services growth. Apple publisher talks for Siri
Neutral Sentiment: Apple proposed a 15% commission on purchases made through external links in iOS apps amid its continuing legal dispute with Epic. The proposal could preserve some App Store revenue, but the final regulatory and legal outcome remains uncertain. Apple proposes external purchase commission
Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s valuation remains demanding, with a market capitalization near $4.5 trillion and a forward earnings outlook that leaves the stock sensitive to execution. An insider sale by SVP Jennifer Newstead was disclosed, though such transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in corporate fundamentals. Apple insider sale
Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple, citing concerns about the canceled or delayed all-glass iPhone concept, limited near-term AI momentum and rising memory-chip costs. Higher component prices could pressure margins and make it harder for Apple to justify its premium valuation. Jefferies Apple downgrade and iPhone concerns
Negative Sentiment: Google’s Pixel 11 is placing Gemini more deeply into the smartphone experience, raising the competitive stakes for Apple ahead of the iPhone 18 launch and Siri’s broader overhaul.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,342,929.25. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.60.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL

Apple Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $305.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.19. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.78 and a 52 week high of $344.57. 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 $4.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued 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 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Apple Company Profile

(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.