BIP Wealth LLC Invests $35.02 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• BIP Wealth LLC purchased 121,031 Apple shares worth approximately $35.02 million during the second quarter, making Apple its 14th-largest holding and representing about 1% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 67.73% of Apple, with major holders including Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital, Morgan Stanley and Norges Bank.
• Apple reported quarterly EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $109.42 billion, exceeding analyst expectations. Shares were trading at $332.27, while analysts maintained a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $334.91.

BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 121,031 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $35,021,000. Apple comprises approximately 1.0% of BIP Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $332.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company's 50-day moving average price is $318.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.45. The company has a market cap of $4.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.02 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57.

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. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 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 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $370.00 price target (down from $380.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $334.91.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: iPhone Duo creates a potential new growth cycle. Apple’s $1,999 foldable iPhone, scheduled to arrive October 23, could drive upgrades, deepen ecosystem engagement and add a high-margin premium product category. Some analysts believe foldables could eventually account for 10% to 20% of iPhone revenue. How Wall Street viewed Apple's foldable iPhone
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see renewed hardware momentum. Alongside the Duo, Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, new Apple Watch models, AirPods 5 and expanded Siri AI features. TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating with a $400 target, supporting the bullish reaction. TD Cowen reiterates Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Carrier promotions could reduce sticker-price resistance. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon are offering installment and trade-in incentives for the expensive Duo, potentially broadening access without an immediate industrywide price war. Wireless carrier promotions
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided. Bank of America retained a Buy rating but lowered its price target to $370, while Rosenblatt kept a Neutral rating and $303 target. The debate centers on Duo demand, supply constraints, valuation and the durability of the upgrade cycle.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure remains the main risk. Apple raised iPhone Pro prices by $100, but memory and other component costs are rising rapidly. Management has already guided to lower gross margins, raising concerns that pricing may not fully offset higher costs. Apple margin pressure from memory costs
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and competition limit upside. Apple trades near the upper end of its historical earnings multiple, while Huawei, Xiaomi and Samsung remain strong competitors in China and the foldable market.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a modest cautionary signal. SVP Jennifer Newstead sold approximately $456,000 of stock, reducing her direct holdings by about 4%, although she retains a substantial position.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.23, for a total transaction of $456,176.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 34,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,897,484.96. This trade represents a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,310 shares of company stock worth $2,279,378. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple 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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