Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Newly Bought by Centaurus Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Centaurus Financial bought 205,686 Apple shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $59.5 million, making Apple its seventh-largest holding and representing 2.3% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $2.02 per share on $109.42 billion in revenue, beating estimates, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.
• Apple shares opened at $338.40, near their 12-month high, and analysts maintained an overall “Moderate Buy” rating with a consensus target of $340.14. Potential headwinds include a proposed $5.7 billion patent award and other regulatory and legal challenges.

Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 205,686 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $59,517,000. Apple accounts for approximately 2.3% of Centaurus Financial Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. raised its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.5% during the second quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC now owns 7,847 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $338.40 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $321.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $298.18. 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 12-month low of $243.42 and a 12-month high of $345.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s renewed patent agreement with Qualcomm helps preserve access to important cellular technology and reduces uncertainty surrounding future iPhone launches. The deal also supports Qualcomm’s royalty stream tied to Apple devices. What Is Going on With Qualcomm Stock on Monday?
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is increasing orders for TSMC’s next-generation 2-nanometer chips point to continued investment in more powerful and efficient processors for future iPhones and other products. TSMC Ramps Up 2nm Chip Capacity as Apple, Nvidia Orders Jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo and premium-device strategy could lift revenue and expand its addressable market, but the roughly $2,000 price raises questions about demand beyond affluent early adopters. Apple’s Premium iPhone Strategy Faces a Test Beyond Early Adopters
• Neutral Sentiment: X Corp. and SpaceXAI reportedly moved to dismiss antitrust claims against Apple and OpenAI, removing one legal challenge, although other regulatory matters remain unresolved. Musk’s X Corp and SpaceXAI Drop Apple From AI Antitrust Fight
• Negative Sentiment: A U.S. jury ordered Apple to pay approximately $5.7 billion to Taction Technology for infringing patents covering haptic feedback used in products such as the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple denies wrongdoing and plans to appeal, but the potential liability is the largest U.S. patent award of its kind. Apple and Amazon Face Revived UK Consumer Lawsuit Over Product Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Britain’s Competition Appeal Tribunal revived part of a consumer case alleging that Apple and Amazon restricted competition for Apple products sold through Amazon’s U.K. marketplace. Apple also faces an expanded Indian investigation into alleged costly repairs following an iOS 18 software update, increasing potential legal and reputational risk. Apple and Amazon Face Revived UK Consumer Lawsuit Over Product Sales

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.06, for a total transaction of $815,803.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 44,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,095,603.46. This trade represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,031 shares of company stock valued at $3,535,759. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.14.

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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