Advisors Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 1,052,271 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management acquired 1.05 million Apple shares worth approximately $304.5 million, making Apple its second-largest holding at 3.2% of the portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and average price target of $340.14, though some firms downgraded the stock to “Hold” or initiated neutral coverage.
• Apple’s outlook is supported by expectations for a strong iPhone upgrade cycle, carrier trade-in promotions and expanding ecosystem adoption, but risks include premium pricing, mixed initial demand indicators, valuation and regulatory pressure.

Advisors Capital 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 filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,052,271 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $304,485,000. Apple comprises approximately 3.2% of Advisors Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at about $13,658,359,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $10,588,946,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 24,974.3% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,614,323 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,754,449,000 after buying an additional 26,508,181 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Apple by 23.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its Apple price target to $380 from $365 and maintained an outperform view. A survey of roughly 4,000 consumers indicated a potentially stronger-than-expected iPhone upgrade cycle and a higher average selling price. iPhone 18 Pro Hits Stores Today
• Positive Sentiment: iPhone 18 Pro sales are supported by carrier trade-in promotions. Bank of America said incentives can offset the $100 price increase, reducing the risk that higher prices will weaken demand. Apple’s iPhone 18 Lineup Keeps Bank of America Bullish
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s ecosystem is gaining additional reach. General Motors plans to restore Apple CarPlay after consumer backlash, while Apple is reportedly preparing an Apple Pay launch in India with Axis Bank. These developments could support services engagement and ecosystem adoption. GM Is Re-downloading Apple CarPlay
• Neutral Sentiment: Initial iPhone 18 Pro demand indicators are mixed. Quick-commerce shortages in India suggest strong localized demand, but UBS cited muted wait times in several major markets. Investors are also assessing whether customers may delay purchases for Apple’s roughly $1,999 foldable iPhone Duo. Apple iPhone 18 Seeing Muted Initial Wait Times
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include premium pricing, valuation and regulatory pressure. Analysts warn that expensive devices could limit adoption in price-sensitive markets such as India. More than 1,600 Italian Apple store employees also struck on launch day, while Apple continues to challenge a potential UK encryption backdoor order and faces European legal scrutiny. Italian Apple Store Employees Strike

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total transaction of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,632 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. DZ Bank cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Arete Research upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $305.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.14.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $336.13 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average is $320.24 and its 200 day moving average is $294.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $240.21 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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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