Hamilton Capital LLC Acquires New Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Hamilton Capital LLC acquired 45,485 Apple shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $13.2 million, making Apple its 10th-largest holding and 0.7% of its portfolio.
• Institutional ownership of Apple stands at 67.73%, with several other investment firms also initiating positions during the quarter. Meanwhile, insiders have sold 11,031 shares worth about $3.5 million over the past 90 days.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 16.4% year over year and EPS exceeding estimates, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $340.14 average price target. Potential headwinds include a proposed $5.7 billion patent award and revived regulatory and consumer litigation.

Hamilton Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 45,485 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $13,162,000. Apple comprises approximately 0.7% of Hamilton Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hayek Kallen Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $38,366,000. Old North State Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $17,771,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,742,000. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,548,000. Finally, Ruggaard & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at $7,454,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.06, for a total value of $815,803.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 44,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,095,603.46. This trade represents a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 11,031 shares of company stock valued at $3,535,759 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s renewed patent agreement with Qualcomm helps preserve access to important cellular technology and reduces uncertainty surrounding future iPhone launches. The deal also supports Qualcomm’s royalty stream tied to Apple devices. What Is Going on With Qualcomm Stock on Monday?
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is increasing orders for TSMC’s next-generation 2-nanometer chips point to continued investment in more powerful and efficient processors for future iPhones and other products. TSMC Ramps Up 2nm Chip Capacity as Apple, Nvidia Orders Jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo and premium-device strategy could lift revenue and expand its addressable market, but the roughly $2,000 price raises questions about demand beyond affluent early adopters. Apple’s Premium iPhone Strategy Faces a Test Beyond Early Adopters
• Neutral Sentiment: X Corp. and SpaceXAI reportedly moved to dismiss antitrust claims against Apple and OpenAI, removing one legal challenge, although other regulatory matters remain unresolved. Musk’s X Corp and SpaceXAI Drop Apple From AI Antitrust Fight
• Negative Sentiment: A U.S. jury ordered Apple to pay approximately $5.7 billion to Taction Technology for infringing patents covering haptic feedback used in products such as the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple denies wrongdoing and plans to appeal, but the potential liability is the largest U.S. patent award of its kind. Apple and Amazon Face Revived UK Consumer Lawsuit Over Product Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Britain’s Competition Appeal Tribunal revived part of a consumer case alleging that Apple and Amazon restricted competition for Apple products sold through Amazon’s U.K. marketplace. Apple also faces an expanded Indian investigation into alleged costly repairs following an iOS 18 software update, increasing potential legal and reputational risk. Apple and Amazon Face Revived UK Consumer Lawsuit Over Product Sales

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $338.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $321.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $298.18. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.42 and a 1-year high of $345.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $4.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid 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 is currently 12.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Apple from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Argus upped their price target on Apple from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Evercore set a $380.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.14.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets 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 software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

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