Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co

Key Points

• Alesco Advisors increased its Apple stake by 19% in the first quarter, purchasing 5,774 additional shares for a total of 36,233 shares valued at approximately $9.2 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of Apple, with several other firms also increasing their positions during the quarter.
• Apple recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $330.44, though rising costs, slower Services growth and increasing hardware competition remain risks.

Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 19.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,233 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,774 shares during the period. Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co's holdings in Apple were worth $9,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 14.1% in the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 21.3% in the first quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. now owns 13,968 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 108.3% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,880,000 after purchasing an additional 18,188 shares during the period. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $105,482,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planned CEO transition appears orderly. Tim Cook will step down in September and be succeeded by longtime Apple executive John Ternus, a veteran with experience dating back to the Steve Jobs era. Cook’s endorsement and Ternus’ familiarity with Apple’s products may reduce concerns about strategic disruption. Tim Cook Says There’s ‘No Better Person’ to Take Over at Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Core business momentum remains strong. Apple’s latest quarter exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up roughly 16% year over year. Broad iPhone, Mac and Services demand continues to support the bullish case. Tim Cook's Last Quarter as CEO Was Apple's Best June Quarter Ever
• Positive Sentiment: App Store monetization is holding up. App Store revenue increased slightly despite a 4% decline in iPhone and iPad downloads, as revenue per download rose 4.7%. This suggests continued pricing and engagement resilience in a key Services business. Apple App Store Revenue Ticks Up Despite Falling Downloads
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is seeking dismissal of Apple’s trade-secrets lawsuit. OpenAI denies misappropriating confidential information related to Apple’s consumer-hardware efforts. The filing does not resolve the dispute, leaving legal and competitive uncertainty in place. OpenAI Seeks Dismissal of Apple's Trade Secrets Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term cost and growth pressures are weighing on sentiment. Rising memory prices, supply constraints and policy risks could pressure margins, while slower Services growth has prompted some firms to downgrade Apple to Hold or Moderate Sell. Apple's Capex Strategy Worked But Other Pressures Are Mounting
• Negative Sentiment: Competition in emerging hardware is increasing. Samsung reported a 30% rise in foldable-device preorders, highlighting a market Apple has yet to enter. Investors may view future Apple foldables as an opportunity, but execution and timing remain uncertain. Samsung Foldable Preorders Jump 30%

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Apple from $364.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $330.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.3%

Apple stock opened at $313.33 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $219.25 and a twelve month high of $344.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $309.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.23. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

About Apple

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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