Chou Associates Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 40,000 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Chou Associates Management acquired 40,000 Apple shares worth approximately $11.6 million in the second quarter, making Apple its sixth-largest holding and representing 5.3% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple, with several major firms—including Deutsche Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ, Amundi and Danske Bank—also increasing or initiating positions.
• Apple reported quarterly revenue of $109.42 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and earnings of $2.02 per share, exceeding expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $340.14, while shares recently traded near $337.

Chou Associates Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 40,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $11,574,000. Apple accounts for approximately 5.3% of Chou Associates Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at about $13,658,359,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $10,588,946,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 24,974.3% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,614,323 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,754,449,000 after buying an additional 26,508,181 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Apple by 23.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $18,547,637,000 after buying an additional 13,780,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,203,206,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and assigned a $370 price target, implying further upside. The firm highlighted improving iPhone 18 Pro Max availability trends, while premium demand remains relatively resilient. BofA Sends Stark Message to Apple Stock Investors on iPhone 18
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new M6 Mac mini and M5 Mac Studio are being marketed as lower-cost alternatives to cloud-based AI infrastructure, potentially expanding Apple’s enterprise opportunity. Their ability to run large AI models locally could create a new hardware growth driver. With new Macs, Apple aims to take on Microsoft and Nvidia
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is developing a screenless fitness tracker to compete with Whoop and Oura point to potential long-term expansion in health and wearables, although a launch may not occur until 2028. Apple could take on Whoop with a new fitness tracker

Apple Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of AAPL opened at $337.02 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.65, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.42 and a twelve month high of $345.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $321.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Apple from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.19, for a total transaction of $474,813.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,867,873.66. This trade represents a 4.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 8,632 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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