Abbot Financial Management Inc. Buys Shares of 55,294 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Abbot Financial Management purchased 55,294 Apple shares worth approximately $16 million in the second quarter, making Apple its second-largest holding at 5.5% of the portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 67.73%, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $338.80.
• Apple reported quarterly revenue of $109.42 billion and EPS of $2.02, exceeding estimates, but its premium valuation and potential memory-cost pressures remain key investor risks.

Abbot Financial Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 55,294 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $16,000,000. Apple accounts for 5.5% of Abbot Financial Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 75,000,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $20,389,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,121 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% during 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 during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. KeyCorp restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $350.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, CICC Research raised their price objective on Apple from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $338.80.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish on the iPhone cycle. Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and $370 price target, citing encouraging iPhone 18 trends and potential artificial-intelligence upside. JPMorgan also maintained a Buy rating, pointing to the longer-term opportunity from the iPhone 18 cycle and foldable Duo. Apple Buy Rating Reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: The iPhone Duo is fueling growth expectations. Analysts and industry observers believe Apple’s first foldable iPhone could expand the premium smartphone market, strengthen the product cycle and create a new source of revenue and earnings growth. Can New iPhone Duo Power Apple's Stock Higher?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s antitrust exposure has eased. Elon Musk’s X Corp. and SpaceXAI moved to resolve or dismiss their antitrust claims against Apple related to its ChatGPT integration, reducing one legal overhang, although related claims against OpenAI continue. Musk's X Corp and SpaceXAI Resolve Antitrust Lawsuit
• Neutral Sentiment: iPhone 18 Pro pre-orders are sending mixed signals. Delivery estimates are generally shorter than during last year’s iPhone 17 launch, which could indicate softer demand, but may also reflect supply improvements or customers waiting for the iPhone Duo. Apple iPhone 18 Pro Pre-orders Point to Mixed Demand Signals
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple released iOS 27 with a redesigned Siri. The update expands Apple’s AI capabilities, but the initial waitlist and support for existing devices could limit near-term iPhone replacement demand. Apple Releases Redesigned Siri AI
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cost risks remain. With Apple trading near its 52-week high at a premium earnings multiple, investors may demand strong Duo adoption. Reports of sharply higher memory prices could pressure hardware margins or force price increases, while OpenAI’s acquisition of an AI-camera startup founded by former Apple employees highlights intensifying competition in AI-enabled devices. Apple CEO Warns of Memory Price Crisis

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total transaction of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at $11,345,787.90. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,194 shares of company stock worth $2,245,142. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $333.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.20, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $318.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.06. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $235.03 and a twelve month high of $344.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple 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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