Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Raised by Banco Santander S.A.

Key Points

• Banco Santander increased its Apple stake by 65% in the second quarter, acquiring 911,087 additional shares for a total of 2.31 million shares valued at approximately $669.5 million. Apple now represents about 4.2% of Santander’s portfolio.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $2.02 per share and revenue of $109.42 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year. Institutional investors own approximately 67.73% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with Apple carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $330.61, though some analysts remain cautious about valuation, foldable iPhone demand and rising component costs.

Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 65.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,313,583 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 911,087 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.2% of Banco Santander S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Apple were worth $669,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in Apple by 890.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after purchasing an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total transaction of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,201 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $328.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $225.95 and a one year high of $344.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $314.94 and a 200 day moving average of $290.13.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for 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%.Apple's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Phillip Securities cut Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) 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-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $330.61.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of Apple’s September 9 product event, the first major launch under new CEO John Ternus. Ternus described the event as “phenomenal,” raising expectations for new premium iPhones and the company’s first foldable iPhone. Apple’s New CEO Teases “Phenomenal” iPhone Launch
• Positive Sentiment: The foldable iPhone could provide a significant new growth catalyst. Morgan Stanley estimates the device could contribute approximately $14 billion to the December quarter, while other projections suggest strong market share and premium pricing potential if demand materializes. Apple’s Foldable iPhone May Contribute $14 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $360 price target, supporting the view that Apple’s product pipeline and earnings growth can justify its premium valuation. Apple’s services business also continues to benefit from price increases to Apple TV and Apple One. Apple TV Price Hike
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has formally succeeded Tim Cook, while Cook remains executive chairman. The structure provides continuity and preserves Cook’s government and China relationships, but Ternus must prove that a product-focused strategy can improve Apple’s position in AI. Apple Leadership Transition
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple to Underperform, reportedly citing the cancellation of an all-glass MacBook or foldable MacBook project and skepticism that the foldable iPhone will be more than a niche product. Jefferies Downgrades Apple
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) UK lawsuit alleging that its App Tracking Transparency rules unfairly restrict third-party developers while favoring Apple’s own advertising services. BASF has also filed a separate patent lawsuit over face-authentication technology. BASF Patent Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory-chip costs could lift iPhone production expenses sharply, forcing Apple to raise prices, accept lower margins or risk weaker demand. Analysts remain divided, with DA Davidson maintaining a Neutral rating and a $270 price target. Apple Product and Leadership Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: An Apple senior vice president sold 1,439 shares worth about $456,000. The sale was relatively small, leaving the executive with nearly 35,800 shares, but it may add modestly to near-term investor caution. Apple Insider Trading Filing

About Apple

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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