1,844 Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Briaud Financial Planning Inc

Key Points

• Briaud Financial Planning increased its Apple stake by 18.9%, acquiring 1,844 shares to own 11,605 shares valued at approximately $3.36 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Apple receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $340.02, despite some recent downgrades and target reductions.
• Apple’s strong product cycle and latest earnings are supportive, but investors face risks from rising component costs, potential AI disruption to its services business, and a $5.7 billion patent verdict that could pressure margins.

Briaud Financial Planning Inc grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,605 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 0.9% of Briaud Financial Planning Inc's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Briaud Financial Planning Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $3,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Nuveen LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 75,000,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $20,389,750,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,121 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Apple by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $18,547,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,780,080 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 55,146,752 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,992,196,000 after purchasing an additional 704,293 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 58,554,032 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,858,200,000 after purchasing an additional 979,832 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Apple by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 43,134,968 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,947,224,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total value of $806,495.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,116,870.56. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 13,430 shares of company stock valued at $4,342,255 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on Apple from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Phillip Securities boosted their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. China Renaissance lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $329.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, KGI Securities downgraded Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.02.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is launching new safeguards designed to protect its devices from probing AI agents. The move may strengthen user trust and help preserve Apple’s security-focused ecosystem as agentic AI becomes more prominent. Apple Launches New Safeguards Against AI Agents
• Positive Sentiment: The fall product cycle remains a near-term tailwind. Morgan Stanley modestly raised its revenue forecast after Apple’s launches, while Counterpoint reportedly expects about 6 million sales of the $1,999 foldable iPhone Duo this year. New Apple Watch health features and potential smart-home products could also broaden the company’s ecosystem. Apple’s Fall Product Cycle Could Support Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating but lowered its price target to $355 from $360. Higher memory and component costs, along with possible iPhone pricing pressure, are offsetting much of the expected product-revenue benefit. Morgan Stanley Adjusts Price Target on Apple
• Negative Sentiment: A jury’s $5.7 billion patent verdict against Apple has raised concerns about potential ongoing royalties and pressure on hardware margins. Apple’s $5.7 Billion Patent Verdict Raises a Bigger Royalty Question
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain worried that AI agents from rivals such as Meta could bypass the App Store and weaken Apple’s high-margin services business. Analysts also see limited upside after Apple’s strong run and its relatively rich valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares valued at approximately $806,496, reducing her direct holdings by 5.4%. The transaction is small relative to her remaining stake but adds modest insider-selling pressure. Apple Insider Transaction Filing

Apple Trading Up 1.0%

AAPL stock opened at $333.69 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.42 and a twelve month high of $345.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $322.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $300.01.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) 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. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during 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 revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 12.39%.

Apple Company 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.

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