Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 105,208,881 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $30,443,242,000. Apple comprises 6.3% of Legal & General Group Plc's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.72% of Apple at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $2,981,051,000. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,646,000. Trajan Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,854,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at $95,269,000. Finally, Veratis Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at $2,935,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Key Apple News
Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:
- Positive Sentiment: iPhone 18 demand remains encouraging. Long lines in India and strong interest in the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max suggest Apple’s premium pricing is holding up in an important growth market. Evercore ISI raised its price target to $380 from $365 while maintaining an outperform rating. Apple iPhone demand in India
- Positive Sentiment: Momentum and technical positioning remain supportive. AAPL has gained roughly 10% over the past month and is approaching a potential buy point, helping sustain investor interest. Bank of America and JPMorgan have reiterated bullish ratings, while several analysts maintain targets above the current trading range. Apple stock approaches buy point
- Neutral Sentiment: Apple is expanding its product ecosystem. The company plans a refreshed HomePod mini, while reports suggest it may develop its own AI server chips. These initiatives could support future ecosystem engagement and infrastructure efficiency, but they are not yet material earnings drivers. Apple to release new HomePod mini
- Negative Sentiment: Rising component costs could pressure margins. Bernstein warned that surging memory and other smartphone component costs may weigh on gross margins and earnings in the December quarter, particularly as Apple introduces more expensive iPhones. Apple’s expensive new iPhones and margins
- Negative Sentiment: Valuation and AI execution remain key risks. At nearly $5 trillion in market value and about 38–39 times earnings, Apple requires continued earnings growth to justify its valuation. Analysts argue Alphabet’s Gemini ecosystem and monetization progress currently give it an edge in consumer AI, while Meta’s AI devices add competitive pressure. Alphabet versus Apple in consumer AI
- Negative Sentiment: Legal and product issues add uncertainty. A judge certified a class of payment card issuers in an Apple Pay antitrust lawsuit alleging improper fees. Separately, Apple is preparing a software fix for an iPhone 18 Pro reboot problem. Apple Pay class-action lawsuit
Apple Stock Performance
Shares of AAPL stock opened at $341.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $321.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $297.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.42 and a 52 week high of $345.34.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS 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 business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 12.39%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 21st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. KGI Securities cut 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. Argus lifted their price objective on Apple from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Apple from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.14.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Apple
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.06, for a total value of $815,803.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 44,391 shares in the company, valued at $15,095,603.46. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 11,031 shares of company stock worth $3,535,759 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Apple Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
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.
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