Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Newly Purchased by Sawyer & Company Inc

Key Points

• Sawyer & Company acquired 49,321 Apple shares in the third quarter, valued at about $16.4 million; the position now represents 5.5% of its portfolio and is its third-largest holding.
• Apple beat quarterly forecasts, reporting EPS of $2.10 and revenue of $114.48 billion, up 11.7% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $343.74, while rising memory-chip costs and supply constraints could pressure margins in the holiday quarter.

Sawyer & Company Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 49,321 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $16,425,000. Apple makes up approximately 5.5% of Sawyer & Company Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avenir Tech Ltd purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 822.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 292,493 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 260,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $118,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. HSBC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $343.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.75, for a total value of $781,474.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,771,522.75. The trade was a 7.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total transaction of $480,309.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,051,831.95. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 291,651 shares of company stock valued at $97,082,537. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $342.37 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $355.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $336.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.50. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 9.68 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is 12.04%.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, with solid iPhone and Mac demand. Apple also says more apps optimized for its new foldable iPhone are coming, potentially improving the product’s appeal. Apple earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many chipmakers amid the AI-stock sell-off, and Bernstein raised its price target to $380 while maintaining a Buy rating. This relative strength may support investor sentiment. Apple holds up amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking about $7.5 billion through a bond offering. The financing provides flexibility, though the reports do not specify its use. The company is also limiting some employees’ AI-tool budgets, a move that could help control costs but raises questions about its internal AI investment. Apple bond sale report
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned of unprecedented memory-chip costs and supply constraints heading into the holiday quarter, putting gross margins at risk despite healthy demand. Investors are also weighing slower Services growth and Apple’s premium valuation. Memory costs and supply constraints

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS.

The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple's devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.

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