David Rolfe’s Wedgewood Partners reduces its Apple Inc. position with a 14.36% trim, cutting nearly 24,000 shares. Amidst the 2026 tech valuation, this strategic move displays a disciplined cut representing a shift of sentiment among strategic growth managers.
With the broad strategic shift toward other AI beneficiaries, the mega-cap tech valuation is expected to experience a moderation in institutional enthusiasm.
Whereas, Apple Inc. (AAPL) remains in the top 5 stakes of Wedgewood Partners as this stop-loss strategy is showing just a nearly 7.3% in the 13F portfolio of Apple.
Annus Horribilis: Reasons Behind the Wedgewood Rebalancing
Wedgewood Partners’ current market performance has declined by a 2.04%, with their current holdings limited to 21.
Though the revenue jump shown by AAPL in the latest quarter, the year 2025 was challenging for Wedgewood Partners. Tracing the S&P 500’s 2.7% gain, Wedgewood’s composite net return showed a -1.8%. David Rolfe marked this period as ‘Annus Horribilis’ in their latest client letter.
With this, they denote that even elite names like Apple are not secure from the valuation gravity. With Apple showing a stretched valuation in early 2026, trading at ~33x forward earnings, putting portfolio pressure on Wedgewood.
The trimming is a predictable action, with David Rolfe’s concentrated “contrarian growth” investment strategy and the need for a ‘high-grade’ portfolio. With the current market scenario of Apple, displaying a hike in its P/E ratio above its current growth rate, it’s only a natural response from a conscious growth investor like Rolfe to trim.
Rolfe implemented his ‘Focused Large Cap’ strategy in 1992, which advocates for a concentrated portfolio holding a limited number of stocks rather than 100. Even though this could increase the volatility, its potential for attracting more alpha is highly valued among disciplined holders.
With this strategic move, Rolfe has trimmed their positions in the shares of other major institutions like Zoetis Inc (-17.9%) and PayPal Holdings Inc (-55.45%). On the other hand, they have newly purchased the shares of Amazon.com Inc. and 2 more institutions, signaling the shift in the current valuation momentum.
The Slide of AAPL Despite Being the Top
Apple Inc. (AAPL) Stock prices are currently showing a downturn of 1.43% to 260.58 USD. Despite being the world’s largest company by market capitalization of $3.83 T, it is currently trading through a ‘choppy’ market.
With the current scenario, the Wedgewood Partners aren’t the only holders who trimmed. The recent SEC 13F filings show a reduction of ~23,970 shares in Apple.
Even with the massive service revenue and the AI-driven iPhone 17 Cycle, the broadening fear that Apple is behind the generative AI innovations compared to Meta and Alphabet has highly impacted the market trend.
Although AAPL continues to be a key holding for major institutions, the latest quarter observed a significant fund reduction amid the AI-driven shift in market sentiment. Contrastingly, the buyers who chipped in increased their shares more than usual, reflecting a targeted approach amid broad cautious moves.
The table below provides the list of major AAPL shareholders.
| Fund/Manager Name | % of Portf. |
| Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett | 22.60% |
| Oakmont Robert Addison Day | 9.17% |
| Jensen Investment Management Rob McIver | 8.46% |
| Atalanta Sosnoff Capital Martin Sosnoff | 7.66% |
| Wedgewood Partners David Rolfe | 7.26% |
| Crestwood Advisors Group Michael Eckton | 6.25% |
| Geode Capital Management | 5.99% |
| Chou Associates Management Francis Chou | 5.93% |
The Bottom Line
While Wedgewood Partners has trimmed its share as per David Rolfe’s portfolio refining strategy, many firms like Vanguard Group Inc have remained ‘ultra-bulls’.
Even though Apple’s current market price is on a downward trend, the company remains the top holding for several institutions, making this trimming trend a temporary challenge. Whereas, for Wedgewood Partners, this is only a cautious move, which could also be a temporary situation based on the future values and market situations.
