65,334 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL Purchased by Councilmark Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Councilmark Asset Management bought 65,334 Apple shares worth approximately $18.9 million in the second quarter, making Apple its second-largest holding at about 10% of the portfolio.
• Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple, while analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $340.14.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 16.4% year over year and EPS beating estimates, but its roughly 39 P/E ratio leaves valuation, rising component costs, AI competition and legal issues as key risks.

Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 65,334 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $18,905,000. Apple makes up approximately 10.0% of Councilmark Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,443,242,000. Nuveen LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,725,121 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Apple by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $18,547,637,000 after buying an additional 13,780,080 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $14,992,196,000 after purchasing an additional 704,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 58,554,032 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,858,200,000 after purchasing an additional 979,832 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: iPhone 18 demand remains encouraging. Long lines in India and strong interest in the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max suggest Apple’s premium pricing is holding up in an important growth market. Evercore ISI raised its price target to $380 from $365 while maintaining an outperform rating. Apple iPhone demand in India
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and technical positioning remain supportive. AAPL has gained roughly 10% over the past month and is approaching a potential buy point, helping sustain investor interest. Bank of America and JPMorgan have reiterated bullish ratings, while several analysts maintain targets above the current trading range. Apple stock approaches buy point
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is expanding its product ecosystem. The company plans a refreshed HomePod mini, while reports suggest it may develop its own AI server chips. These initiatives could support future ecosystem engagement and infrastructure efficiency, but they are not yet material earnings drivers. Apple to release new HomePod mini
• Negative Sentiment: Rising component costs could pressure margins. Bernstein warned that surging memory and other smartphone component costs may weigh on gross margins and earnings in the December quarter, particularly as Apple introduces more expensive iPhones. Apple’s expensive new iPhones and margins
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and AI execution remain key risks. At nearly $5 trillion in market value and about 38–39 times earnings, Apple requires continued earnings growth to justify its valuation. Analysts argue Alphabet’s Gemini ecosystem and monetization progress currently give it an edge in consumer AI, while Meta’s AI devices add competitive pressure. Alphabet versus Apple in consumer AI
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and product issues add uncertainty. A judge certified a class of payment card issuers in an Apple Pay antitrust lawsuit alleging improper fees. Separately, Apple is preparing a software fix for an iPhone 18 Pro reboot problem. Apple Pay class-action lawsuit

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. DZ Bank downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Evercore set a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.06, for a total value of $815,803.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 44,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,095,603.46. This trade represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,031 shares of company stock worth $3,535,759. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $341.07 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.42 and a fifty-two week high of $345.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $321.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.08. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. 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 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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