Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Raised by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 502,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 8,747 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.0% of Gradient Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $145,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Evansbrook LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. raised its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the first quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Apple from $364.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.53.

Apple Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $309.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $224.69 and a 12 month high of $344.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $310.63 and a 200-day moving average of $287.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid 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 yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Incoming CEO John Ternus is expected to reassess Apple’s research-and-development budget and potentially increase spending on AI. Analysts see stronger investment in Siri and other AI products as a way to close the gap with technology rivals. Apple Could Get a New R&D and AI Budget
• Positive Sentiment: Potential product catalysts include an AI-enhanced Siri expected later this year, camera-equipped AI AirPods targeted for 2027 and a foldable iPhone that one analyst estimates could sell 14 million units by 2027. Successful launches could support a major upgrade cycle. Apple Wants to Pay Publishers to Improve Siri
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s nationwide rollout of contactless payments will add Apple Pay acceptance across its U.S. stores, websites and apps. The move expands Apple Pay’s reach and strengthens Apple’s services ecosystem. Walmart Adds Apple Pay Nationwide
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity showed a modestly bullish bias, with calls outnumbering puts, while implied volatility remained below its 52-week median. However, the signal was not strong enough to establish a decisive near-term direction. Apple Options Sentiment
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s leadership change on September 1 is creating both opportunity and uncertainty. Bank of America maintains a Buy view but says Ternus must deliver more surprising products and technologies because the company has become increasingly predictable. Apple Must Relearn How to Surprise
• Negative Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut more than 200 positions tied to Siri and the Vision Pro headset while redirecting resources toward future devices. The restructuring may improve efficiency, but it also highlights execution challenges in AI and spatial computing.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have warned that Apple’s insulation from macroeconomic and competitive headwinds is fading. With shares trading at a high earnings multiple, investors may be less tolerant of slower growth, regulatory pressure and delays in AI products. Apple’s Immunity to Headwinds Is Fading
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple is quietly shifting attention toward China add geopolitical and demand risk, while its substantial tax settlement and filings highlighting large profits routed through Ireland could renew regulatory scrutiny.
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares under a prearranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction is relatively small and does not necessarily signal a change in fundamentals, but it provides a modest negative headline.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.49, for a total value of $442,478.11. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,890,023.32. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,994 shares of company stock worth $919,567. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.