Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Acquires 10,077 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC increased its Apple stake by 12.1% in the third quarter, purchasing 10,077 additional shares for a total of 93,467 shares valued at approximately $31.1 million. Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Apple carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $340.39, although ratings range from “Strong Buy” to “Sell.”
• Apple reported quarterly earnings and revenue above consensus estimates, while its shares traded near record highs; however, investors face risks including potentially weakening iPhone demand, AI-related competitive concerns, regulatory pressure on Apple Pay, and insider stock sales.

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,467 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 10,077 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.4% of Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $31,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,443,242,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,658,359,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,588,946,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.39.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s $1,999 iPhone Duo reportedly sold out within minutes of preorders opening, with delivery estimates pushed into 2027. The response suggests strong pricing power and could establish a significant new premium product category. Apple blames extraordinary demand as foldable iPhones sell out
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI said the iPhone Duo’s extended lead times support its Buy rating and $380 price target. Investors view the launch as a potential catalyst for higher average selling prices and iPhone revenue. Apple early iPhone demand supports Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Meta are collaborating to run Meta’s 816-billion-parameter Muse Spark Open AI model locally on high-end Macs. The partnership may strengthen Mac demand for AI workloads and improve Apple’s AI positioning without requiring a competing mega-scale model. Apple and Meta team up on AI
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS cautioned that iPhone demand could weaken, highlighting the risk that strong initial foldable-phone interest may not translate into sustained volume. Apple’s roughly $5 trillion valuation also leaves the stock dependent on continued execution.
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators are preparing a legal fight that could require Apple to give competing payment providers access to technology behind Apple Pay’s tap-to-pay functionality. A forced opening could weaken the payments ecosystem and create compliance costs. Apple set for UK legal fight over tap-to-pay rules
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces ongoing concerns about lagging rivals in AI infrastructure and advanced assistants. Reports that some iPhone 18 Pro component orders were reduced add to questions about future handset demand.
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares worth approximately $828,000. The transaction is small relative to Apple’s size but represents another insider sale and may have modest signaling value.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $343.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $325.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $306.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.42 and a 52 week high of $348.15.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total transaction of $806,495.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,116,870.56. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 281,782 shares of company stock worth $93,740,172. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.

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