Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: Eastern Bank Grows Position

Key Points

• Eastern Bank increased its Apple stake by 0.7% in the third quarter to 1.17 million shares valued at approximately $390.8 million, making Apple its largest portfolio holding. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple expanded its smart-home ecosystem with the $299 HomeView hub and related devices, supported by partnerships with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $340.39 price target.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, including $2.02 in earnings per share and $109.42 billion in revenue, but shares trade at a demanding valuation of about 39 times earnings. Investors are watching iPhone demand, supplier production cuts and potential competition from Starlink and Google.

Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,173,537 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 8,100 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.9% of Eastern Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Eastern Bank's holdings in Apple were worth $390,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 630,662,494 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $182,897,769,000 after acquiring an additional 28,321,085 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $30,443,242,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Apple by 23.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $18,547,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,780,080 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple launched the $299 HomeView smart-home hub, featuring an upgraded Siri AI assistant, along with a new Apple TV 4K, HomePod mini 2, cameras, a video doorbell, smart lock, thermostat and other accessories. The products expand Apple’s ecosystem into the home and provide a potential new source of hardware and services revenue. Apple releases HomeView smart home hub with screen as showcase for Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric broaden the Apple Home Collection, including security, energy-management and access-control products that could increase engagement with iPhones, Apple Watches and other Apple devices. LG announces smart-home accessories developed with Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable. Bernstein reiterated a Buy rating with a $370 target, while JPMorgan raised its target to $360. Reports also indicate Apple’s iPhone market share reached 22% in the latest quarter, and iPhone 18 Pro demand may be stronger than last year. Bernstein reiterates Buy rating on Apple
• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge ordered OpenAI to provide hiring records and other materials in Apple’s trade-secrets lawsuit, potentially helping Apple investigate the recruitment of former employees and its claims against OpenAI. Judge orders OpenAI to turn over hiring records
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting iPhone Duo preorders on October 16. Strong purchase intent could support the stock, but pricing and delivery trends will be closely watched.
• Negative Sentiment: Some suppliers are reportedly cutting production of newer iPhone models, while shorter delivery windows for Pro models raise questions about demand. Apple’s shares also trade at a demanding valuation, leaving less room for disappointing December-quarter guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warn that SpaceX’s potential Starlink smartphone and Google’s expanding health-data platform could intensify competition in wireless services, wearables and ecosystem engagement over time.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. This trade represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. The trade was a 29.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 279,383 shares of company stock valued at $92,912,517 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $341.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.42 and a 52-week high of $348.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $324.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $304.61.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.39.

About Apple

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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