Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Acquires 26,489,978 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired 26.5 million Apple shares worth approximately $7.7 billion, making Apple its second-largest holding and representing about 4.2% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 16.4% year over year and earnings above estimates. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $340.14.
• Despite encouraging iPhone demand and recent share-price momentum, Apple faces risks from elevated valuation, rising component costs, consumer-AI competition, and legal issues involving Apple Pay.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 26,489,978 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $7,665,140,000. Apple accounts for about 4.2% of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.18% of Apple as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Prospect Hill Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $146,370,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth about $168,646,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at about $482,388,000. Satovsky Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at about $16,064,000. Finally, Sterling Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,666,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: iPhone 18 demand remains encouraging. Long lines in India and strong interest in the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max suggest Apple’s premium pricing is holding up in an important growth market. Evercore ISI raised its price target to $380 from $365 while maintaining an outperform rating. Apple iPhone demand in India
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and technical positioning remain supportive. AAPL has gained roughly 10% over the past month and is approaching a potential buy point, helping sustain investor interest. Bank of America and JPMorgan have reiterated bullish ratings, while several analysts maintain targets above the current trading range. Apple stock approaches buy point
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is expanding its product ecosystem. The company plans a refreshed HomePod mini, while reports suggest it may develop its own AI server chips. These initiatives could support future ecosystem engagement and infrastructure efficiency, but they are not yet material earnings drivers. Apple to release new HomePod mini
• Negative Sentiment: Rising component costs could pressure margins. Bernstein warned that surging memory and other smartphone component costs may weigh on gross margins and earnings in the December quarter, particularly as Apple introduces more expensive iPhones. Apple’s expensive new iPhones and margins
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and AI execution remain key risks. At nearly $5 trillion in market value and about 38–39 times earnings, Apple requires continued earnings growth to justify its valuation. Analysts argue Alphabet’s Gemini ecosystem and monetization progress currently give it an edge in consumer AI, while Meta’s AI devices add competitive pressure. Alphabet versus Apple in consumer AI
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and product issues add uncertainty. A judge certified a class of payment card issuers in an Apple Pay antitrust lawsuit alleging improper fees. Separately, Apple is preparing a software fix for an iPhone 18 Pro reboot problem. Apple Pay class-action lawsuit

Apple Stock Up 1.5%

AAPL stock opened at $341.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $321.56 and a 200 day moving average of $297.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.42 and a 52 week high of $345.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company 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. Apple's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued 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 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is 12.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Citic Securities increased their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. China Renaissance lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $329.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.06, for a total value of $815,803.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 44,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,095,603.46. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 11,031 shares of company stock worth $3,535,759 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Apple

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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