35,923 Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL Purchased by Orca Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Orca Investment Management acquired 35,923 Apple shares worth approximately $10.4 million during the second quarter, making Apple its second-largest holding at 7.5% of the portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Apple receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $334.91, despite some firms maintaining neutral or hold ratings.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $2.02 per share and $109.42 billion in revenue, surpassing estimates, while recent insider selling and concerns about rising component costs and margin pressure remain potential risks.

Orca Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 35,923 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $10,395,000. Apple accounts for approximately 7.5% of Orca Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $8,642,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $118,720,000. Pacific Sage Partners LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,225,000. TFR Capital LLC. bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,668,000. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,525,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.23, for a total value of $456,176.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 34,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,897,484.96. The trade was a 4.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 7,310 shares of company stock worth $2,279,378 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. China Renaissance lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $334.91.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $332.27 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $318.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.63. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.02 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: iPhone Duo creates a potential new growth cycle. Apple’s $1,999 foldable iPhone, scheduled to arrive October 23, could drive upgrades, deepen ecosystem engagement and add a high-margin premium product category. Some analysts believe foldables could eventually account for 10% to 20% of iPhone revenue. How Wall Street viewed Apple's foldable iPhone
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see renewed hardware momentum. Alongside the Duo, Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, new Apple Watch models, AirPods 5 and expanded Siri AI features. TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating with a $400 target, supporting the bullish reaction. TD Cowen reiterates Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Carrier promotions could reduce sticker-price resistance. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon are offering installment and trade-in incentives for the expensive Duo, potentially broadening access without an immediate industrywide price war. Wireless carrier promotions
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided. Bank of America retained a Buy rating but lowered its price target to $370, while Rosenblatt kept a Neutral rating and $303 target. The debate centers on Duo demand, supply constraints, valuation and the durability of the upgrade cycle.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure remains the main risk. Apple raised iPhone Pro prices by $100, but memory and other component costs are rising rapidly. Management has already guided to lower gross margins, raising concerns that pricing may not fully offset higher costs. Apple margin pressure from memory costs
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and competition limit upside. Apple trades near the upper end of its historical earnings multiple, while Huawei, Xiaomi and Samsung remain strong competitors in China and the foldable market.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a modest cautionary signal. SVP Jennifer Newstead sold approximately $456,000 of stock, reducing her direct holdings by about 4%, although she retains a substantial position.

About Apple

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its principal products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware products.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, Apple Pay and iCloud. These services provide digital content, payments, cloud storage and subscription offerings across the company's ecosystem of devices.

Founded in 1976, Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California, and serves consumers, businesses, educational institutions and government customers worldwide.

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