29,229 Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL Bought by Axiom Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Axiom Investment Management bought 29,229 Apple shares worth approximately $7.4 million, making Apple its second-largest holding and about 5.6% of its portfolio. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple reported quarterly EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $109.42 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, for a 0.4% annualized yield.
• Analysts give Apple a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $328.60, though concerns include its premium valuation, delayed all-glass iPhone plans, limited near-term AI momentum and rising component costs.

Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 29,229 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $7,418,000. Apple makes up about 5.6% of Axiom Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 0.2%

Apple stock opened at $305.93 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $308.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.19. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.78 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,342,929.25. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. HSBC upgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Apple from $276.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $328.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly training a China-specific large language model with Alibaba’s support. The initiative could bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese users, improve Apple’s competitive position against Huawei and reduce reliance on third-party AI models in a key market. Apple trains China-specific AI model
• Positive Sentiment: Apple opened an advanced manufacturing center in Houston that will support AI-server production, Mac mini assembly and workforce training. The facility reinforces Apple’s U.S. investment plans and may improve supply-chain resilience and relations with policymakers. Apple opens Houston manufacturing facility
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly received about $2.2 billion in tariff refunds. The cash recovery could offset some trade-related expenses and support near-term earnings and cash flow. Apple tariff refund report
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is discussing usage-based content agreements with publishers to improve the upgraded Siri’s access to current information. A stronger Siri could help narrow Apple’s perceived AI gap and support future services growth. Apple publisher talks for Siri
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple proposed a 15% commission on purchases made through external links in iOS apps amid its continuing legal dispute with Epic. The proposal could preserve some App Store revenue, but the final regulatory and legal outcome remains uncertain. Apple proposes external purchase commission
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s valuation remains demanding, with a market capitalization near $4.5 trillion and a forward earnings outlook that leaves the stock sensitive to execution. An insider sale by SVP Jennifer Newstead was disclosed, though such transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in corporate fundamentals. Apple insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple, citing concerns about the canceled or delayed all-glass iPhone concept, limited near-term AI momentum and rising memory-chip costs. Higher component prices could pressure margins and make it harder for Apple to justify its premium valuation. Jefferies Apple downgrade and iPhone concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s Pixel 11 is placing Gemini more deeply into the smartphone experience, raising the competitive stakes for Apple ahead of the iPhone 18 launch and Siri’s broader overhaul.

Apple Company 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.

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