HWG Holdings LP Purchases 29,256 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

HWG Holdings LP increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 65.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,138 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,256 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.7% of HWG Holdings LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. HWG Holdings LP’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Evansbrook LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the second quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC now owns 7,847 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.0% in the first quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $343.46. 59,879,121 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,324,512. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.42 and a 12-month high of $348.15. The company has a market cap 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $325.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $306.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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 is presently 12.39%.

Apple News Summary

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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 2,399 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.00, for a total transaction of $827,655.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,831,930. This trade represents a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 281,782 shares of company stock worth $93,740,172 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $304.00 price target (up from $270.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on Apple from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Apple from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.39.

Apple Profile

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.