Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: Washburn Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake

Key Points

• Washburn Capital Management increased its Apple stake by 17.5% in the third quarter, adding 2,055 shares for a total of 13,800 shares valued at approximately $4.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple reported stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results, with revenue up 12% year over year to $114.48 billion and EPS of $2.10. Growth was led by iPhone 18 Pro demand, record Mac and Services sales, and an all-time-high installed base.
• Despite the earnings beat, investors face risks from weaker China, iPad, and Wearables sales, rising memory-chip costs, and potential one-time benefits from a tariff refund. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $340.49.

Washburn Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 17.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,800 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,055 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.2% of Washburn Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Washburn Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $4,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 1,912 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,295,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Forward LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Forward LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,438,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $114.48 billion, up 12% year over year and above the approximately $113.4 billion consensus estimate. Diluted EPS of $2.10 also exceeded expectations near $1.99. Apple results beat Wall Street expectations on strong iPhone sales
• Positive Sentiment: Growth was led by early demand for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, with iPhone revenue reaching $57.6 billion, up 17%, while Mac sales and Services also set records. Apple’s active installed base reached an all-time high, supporting its ecosystem and recurring-revenue outlook. Apple Q4 earnings call: Ternus breaks down excellent quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Relatively light quarterly capital spending of $2.24 billion, below the expected $3.33 billion, reinforces Apple’s cash-generation and capital-discipline story as other technology companies spend heavily on AI infrastructure. Big quarterly beats after the close
• Neutral Sentiment: The report was the first under CEO John Ternus. His defense of Apple’s measured AI strategy may appeal to investors seeking profitable, product-focused AI development, but it leaves the company with less visible AI investment than major rivals.
• Negative Sentiment: China revenue fell short of projections, while iPad and Wearables, Home and Accessories sales missed estimates. These weaknesses offset the iPhone and Mac strength and raised concerns about regional and product-line momentum. New CEO John Ternus delivers an Apple earnings beat
• Negative Sentiment: Memory-chip inflation and component shortages threaten future gross margins. Apple’s inventory rose from $11.09 billion to $14.54 billion during the quarter, suggesting the company is stockpiling components but also tying up more cash. Apple inventory surges as memory chip costs climb
• Negative Sentiment: EPS benefited from a roughly $0.05-per-share tariff refund, and gross margin received an approximately one-percentage-point boost. Investors may therefore view part of the earnings beat as one-time rather than purely operational. Apple reports fourth quarter results

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $303.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Citic Securities upped their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.49.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total value of $480,309.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,051,831.95. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total value of $15,467,020.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% 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 289,252 shares of company stock worth $96,301,063 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $338.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.80, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $333.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $296.77. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $351.73. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share 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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