Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Lifted by Liontrust Investment Partners LLP

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP increased its Apple stake by 22.9% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 162,533 shares valued at approximately $41.25 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple reported quarterly revenue of $109.42 billion and EPS of $2.02, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue grew 16.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $328.60 price target, though concerns include Apple’s premium valuation, limited near-term AI momentum, rising memory costs and increased smartphone competition.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 22.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162,533 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 30,239 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP's holdings in Apple were worth $41,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 890.7% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth 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. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly training a China-specific large language model with Alibaba’s support. The initiative could bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese users, improve Apple’s competitive position against Huawei and reduce reliance on third-party AI models in a key market. Apple trains China-specific AI model
• Positive Sentiment: Apple opened an advanced manufacturing center in Houston that will support AI-server production, Mac mini assembly and workforce training. The facility reinforces Apple’s U.S. investment plans and may improve supply-chain resilience and relations with policymakers. Apple opens Houston manufacturing facility
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly received about $2.2 billion in tariff refunds. The cash recovery could offset some trade-related expenses and support near-term earnings and cash flow. Apple tariff refund report
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is discussing usage-based content agreements with publishers to improve the upgraded Siri’s access to current information. A stronger Siri could help narrow Apple’s perceived AI gap and support future services growth. Apple publisher talks for Siri
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple proposed a 15% commission on purchases made through external links in iOS apps amid its continuing legal dispute with Epic. The proposal could preserve some App Store revenue, but the final regulatory and legal outcome remains uncertain. Apple proposes external purchase commission
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s valuation remains demanding, with a market capitalization near $4.5 trillion and a forward earnings outlook that leaves the stock sensitive to execution. An insider sale by SVP Jennifer Newstead was disclosed, though such transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in corporate fundamentals. Apple insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple, citing concerns about the canceled or delayed all-glass iPhone concept, limited near-term AI momentum and rising memory-chip costs. Higher component prices could pressure margins and make it harder for Apple to justify its premium valuation. Jefferies Apple downgrade and iPhone concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s Pixel 11 is placing Gemini more deeply into the smartphone experience, raising the competitive stakes for Apple ahead of the iPhone 18 launch and Siri’s broader overhaul.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, China Renaissance cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $328.60.

Apple Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $305.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.08, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.78 and a 1-year high of $344.57. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $308.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.19.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is 12.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,342,929.25. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Profile

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source