Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Boosted by BG Investment Services LLC

BG Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1,298.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 90,187 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 83,740 shares during the period. Apple comprises 4.5% of BG Investment Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. BG Investment Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $30,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Apple by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 630,662,494 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $182,897,769,000 after purchasing an additional 28,321,085 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $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 valued at $18,547,637,000 after buying an additional 13,780,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 292,611 shares of company stock valued at $97,482,597 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $356.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 39,967,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,203,272. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.72, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $339.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.05. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.42 and a fifty-two week high of $360.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Yorkville Ives started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, China Renaissance raised shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $347.11.

Key Apple News

Investors following AAPL have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein cited Apple’s relatively defensive business as a safe haven amid an AI-sector selloff, helping attract investors as Nvidia weakness put pressure on technology stocks. Apple stock gains as Bernstein highlights safe-haven appeal
• Positive Sentiment: China Renaissance upgraded Apple to Buy and set a $425 price target, pointing to potential from a future foldable iPhone and interest in the company’s product lineup. Recent quarterly results also beat earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up year over year. China Renaissance’s view on Apple
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a key risk: analysts have warned Apple trades at a premium, and views are divided, including a DZ Bank downgrade to Sell. A senior vice president also continued a pattern of scheduled share sales, a modest potential overhang. Apple valuation analysis

About Apple

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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