Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Sunburst Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Sunburst Financial Group increased its Apple position by 6.8% in the second quarter, owning 24,893 shares valued at approximately $7.2 million. Other institutional investors also raised their stakes, with institutions and hedge funds collectively owning 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple reported quarterly EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $109.42 billion, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year. Shares recently traded at $333.69, near their 52-week high, with a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.02.
• Key risks include a $5.7 billion patent verdict, rising component costs, and concerns that competing AI agents could bypass the App Store. Separately, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares worth about $806,496, though insiders own only 0.06% of the company.

Sunburst Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,893 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.2% of Sunburst Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sunburst Financial Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $7,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Crumly & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 15.1% in the second quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 25,444 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,363,000 after purchasing an additional 3,341 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,267 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 7.1% in the second quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 19,715 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,704,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,213 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,585,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 502,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $145,263,000 after buying an additional 8,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 13,430 shares of company stock valued at $4,342,255 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines 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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Phillip Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. China Renaissance cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $329.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.02.

Apple Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $333.69 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $322.16 and its 200 day moving average is $300.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $345.34. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple Profile

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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