Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 4,515 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,515 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000. Apple accounts for 0.8% of Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Everett Harris & Co. CA acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,182,612,000. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,692,000. Stack Financial Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,588,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $124,056,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $107,451,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $332.27 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $318.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.45. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $229.02 and a 52 week high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. DZ Bank cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, China Renaissance cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $334.91.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: iPhone Duo creates a potential new growth cycle. Apple’s $1,999 foldable iPhone, scheduled to arrive October 23, could drive upgrades, deepen ecosystem engagement and add a high-margin premium product category. Some analysts believe foldables could eventually account for 10% to 20% of iPhone revenue. How Wall Street viewed Apple's foldable iPhone
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see renewed hardware momentum. Alongside the Duo, Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, new Apple Watch models, AirPods 5 and expanded Siri AI features. TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating with a $400 target, supporting the bullish reaction. TD Cowen reiterates Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Carrier promotions could reduce sticker-price resistance. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon are offering installment and trade-in incentives for the expensive Duo, potentially broadening access without an immediate industrywide price war. Wireless carrier promotions
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided. Bank of America retained a Buy rating but lowered its price target to $370, while Rosenblatt kept a Neutral rating and $303 target. The debate centers on Duo demand, supply constraints, valuation and the durability of the upgrade cycle.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure remains the main risk. Apple raised iPhone Pro prices by $100, but memory and other component costs are rising rapidly. Management has already guided to lower gross margins, raising concerns that pricing may not fully offset higher costs. Apple margin pressure from memory costs
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and competition limit upside. Apple trades near the upper end of its historical earnings multiple, while Huawei, Xiaomi and Samsung remain strong competitors in China and the foldable market.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a modest cautionary signal. SVP Jennifer Newstead sold approximately $456,000 of stock, reducing her direct holdings by about 4%, although she retains a substantial position.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. 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. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 7,310 shares of company stock worth $2,279,378 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

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.