Next Capital Management LLC Invests $7.63 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Next Capital Management LLC purchased a new position 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 fund purchased 26,355 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $7,626,000. Apple makes up about 2.1% of Next Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.23, for a total transaction of $456,176.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 34,352 shares in the company, valued at $10,897,484.96. The trade was a 4.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,310 shares of company stock worth $2,279,378. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $332.27 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.02 and a 12 month high of $344.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $318.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.45. The company has a market cap of $4.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $303.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $334.91.

Trending Headlines about 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.

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.