Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC purchased 62,128 Apple shares worth approximately $17.98 million in the second quarter, making Apple its third-largest holding at 5.4% of the portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 67.73%, with several large investors initiating or increasing positions. However, an Apple senior vice president sold 1,439 shares, and insiders have sold 8,632 shares over the past 90 days.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with Apple holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $340.14. Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, though premium pricing, regulatory scrutiny and mixed early iPhone 18 demand remain risks.

Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 62,128 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $17,977,000. Apple comprises 5.4% of Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Prospect Hill Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $146,370,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $168,646,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at $482,388,000. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 65.6% during the second quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 66,717 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $19,305,000 after purchasing an additional 26,418 shares during the period. Finally, Rainier Family Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.1% in the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,189,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its Apple price target to $380 from $365 and maintained an outperform view. A survey of roughly 4,000 consumers indicated a potentially stronger-than-expected iPhone upgrade cycle and a higher average selling price. iPhone 18 Pro Hits Stores Today
• Positive Sentiment: iPhone 18 Pro sales are supported by carrier trade-in promotions. Bank of America said incentives can offset the $100 price increase, reducing the risk that higher prices will weaken demand. Apple’s iPhone 18 Lineup Keeps Bank of America Bullish
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s ecosystem is gaining additional reach. General Motors plans to restore Apple CarPlay after consumer backlash, while Apple is reportedly preparing an Apple Pay launch in India with Axis Bank. These developments could support services engagement and ecosystem adoption. GM Is Re-downloading Apple CarPlay
• Neutral Sentiment: Initial iPhone 18 Pro demand indicators are mixed. Quick-commerce shortages in India suggest strong localized demand, but UBS cited muted wait times in several major markets. Investors are also assessing whether customers may delay purchases for Apple’s roughly $1,999 foldable iPhone Duo. Apple iPhone 18 Seeing Muted Initial Wait Times
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include premium pricing, valuation and regulatory pressure. Analysts warn that expensive devices could limit adoption in price-sensitive markets such as India. More than 1,600 Italian Apple store employees also struck on launch day, while Apple continues to challenge a potential UK encryption backdoor order and faces European legal scrutiny. Italian Apple Store Employees Strike

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 8,632 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. KGI Securities lowered shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Apple from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.14.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

AAPL opened at $336.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $240.21 and a 12 month high of $344.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $320.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.69.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its principal products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware products.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, Apple Pay and iCloud. These services provide digital content, payments, cloud storage and subscription offerings across the company's ecosystem of devices.

Founded in 1976, Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California, and serves consumers, businesses, educational institutions and government customers worldwide.

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