Pacific Sage Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Pacific Sage Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 31,880 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $9,225,000. Apple accounts for approximately 1.3% of Pacific Sage Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in Apple by 890.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,413,990,000 after purchasing an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 20,464.8% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Maxim Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $370.00 price target (down from $380.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $334.91.

Apple Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $332.27 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $229.02 and a 1-year high of $344.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $318.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.45. The company has a market cap of $4.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Key Stories Impacting 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.

Insider Transactions at Apple

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 sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 value of $456,176.74. Following 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,310 shares of company stock worth $2,279,378. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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.