LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Invests $22.34 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 77,189 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $22,335,000. Apple makes up 2.7% of LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at about $62,302,000. Mystic Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,133,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,807,000. KilterHowling LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,152,000. Finally, Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,590,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. HSBC restated a "buy" rating and set a $366.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Citic Securities raised their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. KGI Securities downgraded shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.14.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 8,632 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $338.98 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.42 and a 12 month high of $344.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $320.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company 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 (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong iPhone 18 Pro demand: JPMorgan said average delivery times increased to 23 days in the second preorder week from seven days in the first, suggesting demand may be stronger than expected. Analyst Gene Munster said current iPhone 18 estimates could be too conservative, while Evercore ISI raised its price target to $380. JPMorgan sees stronger iPhone 18 Pro demand
• Positive Sentiment: Foldable iPhone creates a potential premium-growth opportunity: Apple’s new iPhone Duo, priced at $1,999 and scheduled for an October 23 release, represents the company’s largest iPhone design change in years. Investors view the product as a possible catalyst for higher average selling prices and a new upgrade cycle under CEO John Ternus. Apple’s new CEO bets big on a foldable iPhone
• Positive Sentiment: AI and capital returns support the bullish case: Coverage highlighted the successful rollout of upgraded Siri AI, Apple’s reported interest in building AI inference servers, and its shrinking share count from buybacks. Apple’s large cash position, history of earnings beats and long-term shareholder returns are also reinforcing investor confidence. Apple’s shrinking share count
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader strategic opportunities: Apple and Google are hiring digital-asset specialists, potentially signaling future initiatives involving payments, stablecoins or tokenization. The company could also benefit if U.S.-China trade discussions reduce tariff pressure on technology companies. Google and Apple digital-asset hiring
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks are rising: Commentators described AAPL as relatively expensive near its highs, while the $1,999 Duo could limit adoption and expose Apple to foldable-screen execution risks. Google’s AI-powered laptops and Meta’s Muse app also highlight intensifying competition in AI and consumer technology.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang: Apple has begun a 90-day claims period tied to a $250 million settlement over allegations that it falsely advertised Apple Intelligence and Siri capabilities. The financial cost is manageable for Apple, but the dispute could weigh on trust in its AI strategy. $250 million Apple AI settlement claims period

About Apple

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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