First National Bank of Omaha Buys New Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• First National Bank of Omaha bought 373,221 Apple shares worth approximately $107 million, making Apple its fifth-largest holding and about 3% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $338.80; Bank of America recently reiterated its Buy rating with a $370 target.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, including 16.4% year-over-year revenue growth and EPS above estimates, but its premium valuation and ongoing regulatory risks could limit upside.

First National Bank of Omaha bought a new position in 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. The institutional investor bought 373,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $107,022,000. Apple comprises about 3.0% of First National Bank of Omaha's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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. Nuveen LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 75,000,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $20,389,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,121 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Apple by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $18,547,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,780,080 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 55,146,752 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,992,196,000 after buying an additional 704,293 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 58,554,032 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,858,200,000 after acquiring an additional 979,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating and set a $370 price target, citing carrier incentives of up to $1,200, a potentially strong iPhone upgrade cycle, capital returns and opportunities for edge AI. Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Cycle Looks Strong As Carrier Incentives Hit $1,200
• Positive Sentiment: Carrier promotions are helping offset higher iPhone 18 Pro prices, supporting expectations for sales despite concerns that consumers could be waiting for Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo. Apple also reportedly gained smartphone market share, even as overall industry shipments declined. Apple iPhone 18 Pro Sales Helped By Carrier Promotions
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is developing AI servers powered by M8 Ultra chips provided a longer-term growth narrative. The planned infrastructure, potentially using NVIDIA networking technology, could reduce cloud costs, protect Services margins and create an enterprise-server opportunity around 2029. Apple Is Quietly Building an AI Advantage Few Expected
• Positive Sentiment: Apple remains a core Berkshire Hathaway holding, representing more than half of Warren Buffett’s portfolio along with American Express and Alphabet. This reinforces the perception of Apple as a high-quality, cash-generating long-term investment. Warren Buffett Has More Than 50% of His Portfolio in These 3 Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Early iPhone 18 Pro preorder signals are mixed. Some analysts see shorter wait times as a sign of softer demand, while others believe carrier discounts and customers delaying purchases for the foldable model explain the pattern. Bank of America flags surprising iPhone 18 pre-order trend
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s premium valuation leaves limited room for disappointment, while a $2.7 billion UK lawsuit over app-tracking rules and continuing European scrutiny add regulatory risk. An executive’s stock sale was disclosed, although it was conducted to cover tax withholding on vested equity and is not necessarily a bearish signal. Apple Faces a $2.7 Billion UK Lawsuit

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.19, for a total value of $474,813.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,867,873.66. This represents a 4.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 8,632 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday, September 13th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $338.80.

Apple Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $337.00 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $236.65 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.65, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business's 50-day moving average is $319.82 and its 200 day moving average is $294.40.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 announced 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. 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%.

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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