OakTrust Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $560,000 in Apple Inc. $AAPL

OakTrust Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,934 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $560,000. Apple accounts for about 0.5% of OakTrust Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.23, for a total transaction of $456,176.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 34,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,897,484.96. This trade represents a 4.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 7,310 shares of company stock valued at $2,279,378 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. HSBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $366.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $334.91.

Apple Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Apple stock 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $318.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.45. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is 12.39%.

Apple News Summary

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 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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