Apple Inc. $AAPL is Kerusso Capital Management LLC's Largest Position

Key Points

• Kerusso Capital Management increased its Apple position by 23.4% in the second quarter to 29,232 shares valued at approximately $8.46 million, making Apple its largest holding at 3.1% of the portfolio.
• Wall Street’s consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $331.53, despite some analysts downgrading the stock to “Hold” or “Underperform.”
• Apple reported quarterly earnings and revenue above consensus estimates, with revenue up 16.4% year over year, while investors face risks from elevated valuation, potential iPhone “sell-the-news” reactions, memory-cost pressures and competition in foldable devices.

Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,232 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 5,549 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.1% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Kerusso Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $8,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $285.56 to $263.66 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.53.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $316.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $316.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $291.35. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $225.95 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 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 owned 35,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,345,787.90. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock worth $1,823,201. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is expected to introduce its first foldable iPhone, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Morgan Stanley estimates the foldable could ship about 6.5 million units in the December quarter and generate approximately $14 billion in revenue, creating a potentially significant new growth category. Apple’s foldable iPhone could add $14 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a Buy rating and a $380 price target, anticipating a roughly $2,099 foldable model and higher prices for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. Premium pricing could support revenue and margins if demand holds. Apple’s Wednesday event and Bank of America’s price target
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s acquisition of Sonera Magnetics, a company developing non-invasive neural-signal sensors, could strengthen its long-term health, wearable and human-computer-interface ambitions. The deal was completed in May but became public through a European Commission notice. Apple Purchases Neural Signal Sensor Company Sonera
• Neutral Sentiment: The launch is also the first major keynote for new CEO John Ternus. Investors will look for evidence that his leadership can accelerate hardware innovation while addressing Apple’s perceived artificial-intelligence shortcomings. Apple’s New CEO Has a Hardware Event and an AI Problem
• Neutral Sentiment: Historical analysis suggests Apple stock often has a muted or mixed reaction after major iPhone reveals, increasing the risk that strong results are already reflected in the valuation. Berkshire Hathaway’s continued large Apple position provides a supportive long-term signal but is not a near-term catalyst. How Apple stock usually reacts to big iPhone reveal events
• Negative Sentiment: AI data-center demand is diverting premium memory capacity away from smartphone components, potentially raising Apple’s costs and pressuring iPhone margins. AI diverts memory from phones
• Negative Sentiment: Huawei and Xiaomi have launched premium foldables ahead of Apple, raising competitive pressure—particularly in China. Analysts also warn that the stock could experience a “sell-the-news” reaction because expectations and valuation are high. Huawei launches a tri-fold smartphone ahead of Apple

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.