Apple Inc. $AAPL is Gateway Wealth Partners LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 155.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,976 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 130,820 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.1% of Gateway Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $54,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $308.26 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.78 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.35, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $283.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 12.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $285.56 to $263.66 in a research report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Apple from $364.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.60.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is testing memory chips from China’s CXMT for some iPhones and MacBooks sold in China. If approved by U.S. authorities, the move could provide an additional supply source and help mitigate shortages caused by surging AI-related demand. Apple tests China’s CXMT memory chips
• Positive Sentiment: Some Apple-focused investors, including Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster, argue that the shares remain undervalued and that future iPhone price increases, artificial-intelligence features and a potential upgrade cycle could support longer-term growth. Gene Munster disagrees with Apple downgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is scheduled to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share on August 13 to eligible shareholders, providing a modest near-term shareholder return. Apple dividend payment
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple from Hold to Underperform and cut its price target to $263.66 from $285.56. Analyst Edison Lee reportedly believes Apple has scrapped a planned all-glass iPhone because of production challenges, removing a potential premium product that could have lifted average selling prices and profitability. Apple could underperform without an all-glass iPhone
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage costs are rising sharply amid the AI-driven supply crunch; reports suggest iPhone 18 production costs could increase by roughly 38%. Apple may need to raise prices, risking weaker demand, or absorb the costs, pressuring margins. Apple’s iPhone 18 costs could jump 38%
• Negative Sentiment: The CXMT testing also introduces geopolitical and execution risks: U.S. restrictions could limit Apple’s access to the supplier, while CXMT’s capacity and technology may lag established memory manufacturers. These issues add uncertainty to Apple’s supply chain and pricing strategy.

Apple Profile

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.