8,072 Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL Purchased by Altium Investment Strategies LLC

Key Points

• Altium Investment Strategies opened a new Apple position, buying 8,072 shares worth about $2.76 million. Apple represents 3.1% of its portfolio and is its seventh-largest holding.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a MarketBeat consensus of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.51; ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Apple beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $2.10 and revenue of $114.48 billion, up 11.7% year over year. The article also flags rising component costs as a potential pressure on holiday-quarter margins.

Altium Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,072 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,755,000. Apple makes up about 3.1% of Altium Investment Strategies LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Avenir Tech Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 822.7% in the second quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 292,493 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 260,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $118,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $303.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $350.00 target price on Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $343.51.

Apple Stock Up 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $349.51 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $354.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $334.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $297.58. The company has a market cap of $5.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total value of $806,495.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,992 shares in the company, valued at $14,116,870.56. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 289,252 shares of company stock worth $96,301,063. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Post-election relief helped lift major technology stocks, including Apple, as investors saw reduced near-term uncertainty. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reached a record high amid signs of renewed demand. Investors are also weighing the rollout of Apple Intelligence in China, which could help close a competitive gap in a major market. Invezz article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reducing employee budgets for AI tools as it seeks to manage expenses, while reported research costs have climbed 32%. Cost control may help, but the spending trend underscores the expense of competing in AI. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory prices remain a key risk to profitability: Apple expects higher component costs to pressure holiday-quarter gross margins, and its manufacturing purchase commitments have increased. MarketBeat article
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and margin concerns persist despite the rally; DZ Bank downgraded Apple to sell, citing a $300 price target. MarketBeat ratings

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells 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 applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.

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