Horizon Investment Services LLC Buys New Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Horizon Investment Services LLC initiated a position in Apple during the second quarter, purchasing 29,182 shares valued at approximately $8.44 million. Apple now represents about 2.3% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 10th-largest holding.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial, with investors and hedge funds holding approximately 67.73% of Apple’s shares; major holders including Vanguard, Nuveen and Amundi recently increased their positions.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view of Apple, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $338.80. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while its shares trade near their 52-week high at a premium valuation.

Horizon Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 29,182 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $8,444,000. Apple accounts for approximately 2.3% of Horizon Investment Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Apple by 23.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased 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 valued at $14,858,200,000 after purchasing an additional 979,832 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 55,146,752 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,992,196,000 after buying an additional 704,293 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Apple from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. KGI Securities downgraded shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. HSBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $366.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $338.80.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish on the iPhone cycle. Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and $370 price target, citing encouraging iPhone 18 trends and potential artificial-intelligence upside. JPMorgan also maintained a Buy rating, pointing to the longer-term opportunity from the iPhone 18 cycle and foldable Duo. Apple Buy Rating Reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: The iPhone Duo is fueling growth expectations. Analysts and industry observers believe Apple’s first foldable iPhone could expand the premium smartphone market, strengthen the product cycle and create a new source of revenue and earnings growth. Can New iPhone Duo Power Apple's Stock Higher?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s antitrust exposure has eased. Elon Musk’s X Corp. and SpaceXAI moved to resolve or dismiss their antitrust claims against Apple related to its ChatGPT integration, reducing one legal overhang, although related claims against OpenAI continue. Musk's X Corp and SpaceXAI Resolve Antitrust Lawsuit
• Neutral Sentiment: iPhone 18 Pro pre-orders are sending mixed signals. Delivery estimates are generally shorter than during last year’s iPhone 17 launch, which could indicate softer demand, but may also reflect supply improvements or customers waiting for the iPhone Duo. Apple iPhone 18 Pro Pre-orders Point to Mixed Demand Signals
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple released iOS 27 with a redesigned Siri. The update expands Apple’s AI capabilities, but the initial waitlist and support for existing devices could limit near-term iPhone replacement demand. Apple Releases Redesigned Siri AI
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cost risks remain. With Apple trading near its 52-week high at a premium earnings multiple, investors may demand strong Duo adoption. Reports of sharply higher memory prices could pressure hardware margins or force price increases, while OpenAI’s acquisition of an AI-camera startup founded by former Apple employees highlights intensifying competition in AI-enabled devices. Apple CEO Warns of Memory Price Crisis

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $333.08 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $318.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.06. 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 company has a market cap of $4.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.20, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $235.03 and a 1 year high of $344.57.

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, 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 revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total transaction of $456,177.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,194 shares of company stock valued at $2,245,142. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple 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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