Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Lifted by Annex Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Annex Advisory Services increased its Apple stake by 20.5% in the third quarter, adding 93,191 shares to own 547,098 shares valued at approximately $182.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Apple holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $340.59; individual views range from a $245 underweight target to a $400 buy target.
• Apple shares opened at $348.91, near their 52-week high, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $109.42 billion. Insiders have sold 289,252 shares worth roughly $96.3 million over the past three months, though some sales covered tax obligations.

Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 547,098 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 93,191 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.0% of Annex Advisory Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $182,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Apple by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 54,493 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $18,147,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. BFI Infinity Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,295,000. BostonPremier Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the third quarter. BostonPremier Wealth LLC now owns 31,416 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,462,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Apple by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 43,945 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,587,000 after buying an additional 8,792 shares during the period. Finally, TopTier Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 16.4% in the third quarter. TopTier Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,574 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Citic Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.59.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the business'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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 289,252 shares of company stock valued at $96,301,063. 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: Analysts remain optimistic ahead of earnings, citing strong demand for Apple’s new iPhone Duo, continued Services growth and potential AI-related momentum. Options activity also points to expectations for a post-earnings rally. Apple's Q4 Earnings Loom
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its Buy rating, while Monness raised its price target to $355. Apple is also attracting attention as it approaches Nvidia in market capitalization, with revenue growth described as its fastest in about five years. Apple Stock Heads Toward All-Time High
• Positive Sentiment: Apple launched its first touchscreen MacBook Pro, featuring OLED displays and M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The move expands the Mac product cycle and could support higher average selling prices, despite the premium starting price. Apple Shows First Touchscreen Laptops
• Neutral Sentiment: Forty-seven exchange-traded funds added to their Apple holdings, indicating continued institutional demand, although the purchases do not necessarily signal near-term changes in fundamentals. 47 ETFs Add to Apple Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face margin and valuation concerns. AI-driven flash-memory demand has sharply increased component costs, while Apple’s roughly 40-times earnings multiple leaves limited room for disappointing guidance. AI Has Made Flash Memory More Expensive
• Negative Sentiment: South Korea fined Apple and Google a combined $47.6 million over alleged unfair app-payment practices. Early reports of cracked iPhone Duo screens and an executive stock sale add smaller sources of investor caution. South Korea Fines Google and Apple

Apple Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of AAPL opened at $348.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 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 $351.73. The company has a market cap of $5.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $332.37 and a 200 day moving average of $295.96.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

About Apple

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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