Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Groupe la Francaise

Key Points

• Groupe la Française increased its Apple stake by 14.5% in the first quarter, purchasing 142,217 additional shares for a total of 1.126 million shares valued at approximately $283.9 million.
• Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple, with several other funds also increasing their positions. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $328.60.
• Apple recently exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.02 in adjusted EPS and $109.42 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

Groupe la Francaise increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,126,001 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 142,217 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.9% of Groupe la Francaise's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Apple were worth $283,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 14.1% during the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,189,000 after buying an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 18,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $105,482,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $365.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Apple from $276.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $328.60.

Apple Trading Up 0.2%

Apple stock opened at $305.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.08, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $308.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.19. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.78 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm'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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total transaction of $442,852.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,342,929.25. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 reportedly training a China-specific large language model with Alibaba’s support. The initiative could bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese users, improve Apple’s competitive position against Huawei and reduce reliance on third-party AI models in a key market. Apple trains China-specific AI model
• Positive Sentiment: Apple opened an advanced manufacturing center in Houston that will support AI-server production, Mac mini assembly and workforce training. The facility reinforces Apple’s U.S. investment plans and may improve supply-chain resilience and relations with policymakers. Apple opens Houston manufacturing facility
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly received about $2.2 billion in tariff refunds. The cash recovery could offset some trade-related expenses and support near-term earnings and cash flow. Apple tariff refund report
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is discussing usage-based content agreements with publishers to improve the upgraded Siri’s access to current information. A stronger Siri could help narrow Apple’s perceived AI gap and support future services growth. Apple publisher talks for Siri
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple proposed a 15% commission on purchases made through external links in iOS apps amid its continuing legal dispute with Epic. The proposal could preserve some App Store revenue, but the final regulatory and legal outcome remains uncertain. Apple proposes external purchase commission
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s valuation remains demanding, with a market capitalization near $4.5 trillion and a forward earnings outlook that leaves the stock sensitive to execution. An insider sale by SVP Jennifer Newstead was disclosed, though such transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in corporate fundamentals. Apple insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple, citing concerns about the canceled or delayed all-glass iPhone concept, limited near-term AI momentum and rising memory-chip costs. Higher component prices could pressure margins and make it harder for Apple to justify its premium valuation. Jefferies Apple downgrade and iPhone concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s Pixel 11 is placing Gemini more deeply into the smartphone experience, raising the competitive stakes for Apple ahead of the iPhone 18 launch and Siri’s broader overhaul.

Apple Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source