Eastern Bank Has $337.23 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Eastern Bank increased its Apple stake by 4.5% in the second quarter, acquiring 50,146 additional shares to own 1.17 million shares worth approximately $337.2 million. Apple now represents 5.2% of the bank’s portfolio and is its largest holding.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings and revenue above analyst expectations, with revenue up 16.4% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $330.53.
• Apple’s outlook includes potential catalysts from new products, AI improvements and antitrust relief, but investors still face concerns over its elevated valuation, memory-chip sourcing, regulatory changes and security risks.

Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,165,437 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 50,146 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.2% of Eastern Bank's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Eastern Bank's holdings in Apple were worth $337,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $330.53.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co. Redburn upgraded Apple to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $400 from $260. The firm cited potential growth from a premium foldable iPhone and a strategic reset of Apple Intelligence, while suggesting Apple could use Nvidia’s open-source AI models to improve its position. Apple Stock Got an Upgrade. It Could Be the AI Gatekeeper.
• Positive Sentiment: Antitrust relief removes a legal overhang. Apple reportedly won significant relief in an antitrust battle, potentially reducing regulatory risk around its App Store and business practices. Apple Wins Major Relief in Antitrust Battle
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-iPhone event demand appears supportive. A KeyBanc survey indicated improving consumer spending ahead of Apple’s expected September product launch, providing a potential near-term catalyst for iPhone sales. Why Investors Should Consider Buying Apple Stock Ahead of Its September iPhone Event
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is changing European app-tracking consent rules following a German competition investigation. The changes may benefit Meta and advertisers, but could reduce some of Apple’s control over data-related monetization. Apple to change app data consent rules, German regulator says
• Negative Sentiment: Memory-chip sourcing is a growing risk. The Trump administration urged Apple not to buy Chinese memory chips because of national-security concerns. Complying could raise component costs, while defying the request could create political or supply-chain complications. Apple May Buy Chinese Memory Chips Despite US Request
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution concerns remain. At roughly $306 and about 35 times earnings, bearish commentary argues that much of Apple’s quality is already reflected in the price and that AI progress may not justify a higher multiple. Apple's Red Flags Are Real and Signal Trouble
• Negative Sentiment: Security and App Store-management reports add reputational risk. Investigators reported an unusually large number of spyware alerts affecting Apple users, while DefiLlama said fake apps delayed its launch. Apple has also patched a critical macOS flaw exploited for cryptocurrency mining. Unprecedented number of Apple users received recent spyware alert

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,342,929.25. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $305.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $309.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.73. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.78 and a 52-week high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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