Ames National Corp Buys 17,539 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Ames National Corp. initiated a $5.08 million Apple position by purchasing 17,539 shares in the second quarter, making Apple 2.8% of its portfolio and its eighth-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Apple holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $340.14. Recent quarterly results also exceeded expectations, with $2.02 EPS and $109.42 billion in revenue.
• Apple’s strong iPhone demand and stock momentum are offset by concerns about high valuation, rising component costs, AI competition, and legal or product-related issues. An Apple senior vice president also sold 2,399 shares for approximately $815,804.

Ames National Corp bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 17,539 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $5,075,000. Apple makes up 2.8% of Ames National Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Apple by 23.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $18,547,637,000 after acquiring an additional 13,780,080 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 58,554,032 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,858,200,000 after acquiring an additional 979,832 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $13,658,359,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Evercore set a $380.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings cut Apple from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Phillip Securities upped their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.14.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $341.07 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $345.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $321.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $297.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $4.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is 12.39%.

Apple News Summary

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

Insider Activity

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

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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