Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Gateway Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• Gateway Wealth Partners increased its Apple stake by 155.4% in the first quarter, owning 214,976 shares valued at approximately $54.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 67.73% of Apple’s stock.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $2.02 per share and revenue of $109.42 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, equivalent to a 0.4% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $328.60, but risks include Jefferies’ downgrade, rising memory costs, potential iPhone production-cost increases and supply-chain uncertainty involving Chinese chipmaker CXMT.

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 155.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,976 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 130,820 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.1% of Gateway Wealth Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $54,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $308.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $309.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $283.86. The stock has a market cap of $4.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.78 and a 1-year high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is testing memory chips from China’s CXMT for some iPhones and MacBooks sold in China. If approved by U.S. authorities, the move could provide an additional supply source and help mitigate shortages caused by surging AI-related demand. Apple tests China's CXMT memory chips
• Positive Sentiment: Some Apple-focused investors, including Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster, argue that the shares remain undervalued and that future iPhone price increases, artificial-intelligence features and a potential upgrade cycle could support longer-term growth. Gene Munster disagrees with Apple downgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is scheduled to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share on August 13 to eligible shareholders, providing a modest near-term shareholder return. Apple dividend payment
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple from Hold to Underperform and cut its price target to $263.66 from $285.56. Analyst Edison Lee reportedly believes Apple has scrapped a planned all-glass iPhone because of production challenges, removing a potential premium product that could have lifted average selling prices and profitability. Apple could underperform without an all-glass iPhone
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage costs are rising sharply amid the AI-driven supply crunch; reports suggest iPhone 18 production costs could increase by roughly 38%. Apple may need to raise prices, risking weaker demand, or absorb the costs, pressuring margins. Apple's iPhone 18 costs could jump 38%
• Negative Sentiment: The CXMT testing also introduces geopolitical and execution risks: U.S. restrictions could limit Apple’s access to the supplier, while CXMT’s capacity and technology may lag established memory manufacturers. These issues add uncertainty to Apple’s supply chain and pricing strategy.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $365.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Phillip Securities cut Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $285.56 to $263.66 in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $328.60.

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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