Sowa Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,065 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sowa Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,780 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,065 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 14.5% of Sowa Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sowa Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $25,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.5 Stocks Set to Start Strong in January and Lead Through 2026A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $39,065,374,000 after buying an additional 205,656,808 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Apple by 98,917.0% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Apple Price PerformanceNASDAQ:AAPL opened at $273.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $272.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.25. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. Jabil Is Flying Under the Radar—But a 50% Surge May Be ComingApple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year. Apple Announces DividendThe firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.92%. Analyst Ratings ChangesWhy Taiwan Semiconductor's 6.5% Dip Could Be a Smart BuySeveral research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Argus set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.92.Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on AAPLInsider Buying and SellingIn other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Apple News RoundupHere are the key news stories impacting Apple this week: Positive Sentiment: Apple released a new AI model, sparking renewed optimism that the company can commercialize AI features across iPhone and services — a growth catalyst investors are rewarding. Article Title Positive Sentiment: A federal judge blocked Texas’s app store age‑verification law, and Apple announced it will pause changes tied to that law — removing near‑term compliance costs and legal uncertainty for iOS distribution. Article Title Positive Sentiment: Wall Street momentum: multiple firms have recently issued buy/overweight calls and raised price targets (median ~$305), and sector bulls (e.g., Wedbush) include Apple among 2026 AI winners — analyst upgrades/support help lift sentiment and flows. Article Title Neutral Sentiment: Apple agreed to allow third‑party app stores in Brazil as part of a settlement — a structural change that could pressure App Store revenue over time but also resolves a regulatory dispute now. Article Title Neutral Sentiment: Market data on December short interest shows anomalies/zero values (likely a reporting error) — not a meaningful signal for intraday moves. (Source: short‑interest entries) Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal headwinds: reports flagged a €~? / $115M fine in Italy for alleged app‑market issues and ongoing scrutiny — small relative to Apple’s scale but a reminder of regulatory risk. Article Title Negative Sentiment: Insider selling activity remains elevated (multiple execs have sold shares in recent months) — creates modest negative headline risk and can weigh on sentiment even as fundamentals remain strong. Article Title 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.Recommended StoriesFive stocks we like better than AppleTurn your "dead money" into $306+ monthly (starting this month)Buffett, Gates and Bezos Quietly Dumping Stocks—Here's WhyWashington prepares for warPut $1,000 into this stock by Jan 1 [Not NVDA]The McDonald's SecretWant to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.Should You Invest $1,000 in Apple Right Now?Before you consider Apple, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Apple wasn't on the list.While Apple currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.View The Five Stocks Here