Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by James Hambro & Partners LLP

Key Points

• James Hambro & Partners increased its Apple stake by 90% in the third quarter, adding 2,310 shares to hold 4,878 shares worth about $1.625 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively owned 67.73% of Apple stock.
• Apple beat quarterly estimates, reporting $114.48 billion in revenue, up 11.7% year over year, and EPS of $2.10. However, the company’s forecast for lower holiday-quarter gross margins, partly due to higher memory-chip and AI-related costs, is a concern for investors.
• Apple declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, while insiders sold shares worth about $96.3 million over the past 90 days. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $343.28.

James Hambro & Partners LLP increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 90.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,878 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares during the period. James Hambro & Partners LLP's holdings in Apple were worth $1,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kondo Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Kondo Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,224 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,405,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Washburn Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.5% during the third quarter. Washburn Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,800 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,055 shares in the last quarter. Gimbal Financial boosted its holdings in Apple by 760.7% in the third quarter. Gimbal Financial now owns 31,106 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,359,000 after acquiring an additional 27,492 shares in the last quarter. Prairie Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 97.7% in the third quarter. Prairie Advisory LLC now owns 81,316 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $27,080,000 after acquiring an additional 40,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 76,205 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,784,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total transaction of $806,495.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,116,870.56. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 289,252 shares of company stock valued at $96,301,063 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $331.90 on Wednesday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $334.05 and a 200 day moving average of $297.13. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $351.73.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 128.88%. The business had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported record September-quarter revenue of $114.48 billion, up 11.7% year over year, and EPS of $2.10, beating analyst estimates. Strong iPhone demand—iPhone revenue rose 17.5%—and Mac sales helped drive the results. Apple Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, iPhone Drives Top-Line Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating, arguing that investors should look beyond near-term margin pressure to Apple’s longer-term opportunity. Buy Apple Stock After Earnings, Says Bank of America
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure is Apple’s forecast for a 45%–46% gross margin in the holiday quarter, below the recent quarter’s 47.9%. Management cited sharply higher memory-chip costs and spending tied to Siri AI; investors worry these expenses will limit profit growth even with strong sales. Apple Shares Slide as Higher Memory Costs Fuel Margin Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also saw softer signals beneath the headline beat: services growth is expected to slow, China revenue missed expectations, and higher component costs are being accompanied by increased inventory and supplier commitments. The stock’s premium valuation may make it more vulnerable if growth or margins disappoint. Apple Growth, Margins Likely Face Pressure in 2027, UBS Says

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. Morgan Stanley set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a "buy" rating and issued a $355.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $343.28.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.

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