Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Key Points

• Proficio Capital Partners increased its Apple stake by 129% in the second quarter, purchasing 71,973 additional shares for a total of 127,762 shares valued at approximately $37 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Wall Street maintains a generally positive view, with Apple carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $340.02. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting 16.4% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Potential headwinds include a $5.7 billion patent verdict, rising component costs, possible iPhone pricing pressure, and concerns that rival AI agents could bypass the App Store. Apple SVP Jennifer Newstead also sold 2,399 shares worth about $806,496.

Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 129.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 127,762 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 71,973 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.4% of Proficio Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Proficio Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $36,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nwam LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 274,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $79,366,000 after buying an additional 18,523 shares during the last quarter. Piedmont Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Piedmont Capital Management LLC now owns 2,473 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 212,153 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $61,402,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd grew its position in shares of Apple by 93.7% during the 2nd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 1,320,786 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $382,183,000 after acquiring an additional 638,934 shares during the period. Finally, Orgel Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,340 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,992,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were 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 represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,430 shares of company stock valued at $4,342,255. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is launching new safeguards designed to protect its devices from probing AI agents. The move may strengthen user trust and help preserve Apple’s security-focused ecosystem as agentic AI becomes more prominent. Apple Launches New Safeguards Against AI Agents
• Positive Sentiment: The fall product cycle remains a near-term tailwind. Morgan Stanley modestly raised its revenue forecast after Apple’s launches, while Counterpoint reportedly expects about 6 million sales of the $1,999 foldable iPhone Duo this year. New Apple Watch health features and potential smart-home products could also broaden the company’s ecosystem. Apple’s Fall Product Cycle Could Support Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating but lowered its price target to $355 from $360. Higher memory and component costs, along with possible iPhone pricing pressure, are offsetting much of the expected product-revenue benefit. Morgan Stanley Adjusts Price Target on Apple
• Negative Sentiment: A jury’s $5.7 billion patent verdict against Apple has raised concerns about potential ongoing royalties and pressure on hardware margins. Apple’s $5.7 Billion Patent Verdict Raises a Bigger Royalty Question
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain worried that AI agents from rivals such as Meta could bypass the App Store and weaken Apple’s high-margin services business. Analysts also see limited upside after Apple’s strong run and its relatively rich valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares valued at approximately $806,496, reducing her direct holdings by 5.4%. The transaction is small relative to her remaining stake but adds modest insider-selling pressure. Apple Insider Transaction Filing

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. CICC Research upped their price target on Apple from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.02.

Apple Stock Up 1.0%

AAPL stock opened at $333.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.42 and a 52 week high of $345.34. The company's 50-day moving average price is $322.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.01.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

About Apple

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets 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 software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

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