Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Purchases New Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,265 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $655,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $169,311,000. Principle Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,739,000. UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,833,000. Requisite Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,769,000. Finally, Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,274,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $331.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $319.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $293.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 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 $236.32 and a 52 week high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new iPhone Duo foldable is generating significant investor interest. Analysts and commentators including Jim Cramer and Gary Black believe demand could be substantial, while some coverage suggests the device could expand Apple’s addressable market and support a longer-term upgrade cycle. Jim Cramer on Apple foldable demand
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish. Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $370 price target, JPMorgan reaffirmed its Buy rating, and Morgan Stanley reportedly increased its conviction as Apple’s hardware and AI offerings become more compelling. Bank of America Apple rating
• Positive Sentiment: Apple had a record Emmy performance, taking home the most awards and strengthening Apple TV+’s position in streaming. The recognition could support customer engagement and Apple’s services strategy, although the direct financial effect is difficult to quantify. Apple Emmy coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Early iPhone 18 Pro delivery times are shorter than last year’s, producing mixed interpretations: they may indicate softer demand, or consumers may be waiting for the foldable Duo. Apple’s stock is also roughly 4% below its recent high, limiting the margin for disappointment.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports describe iPhone 18 Pro demand as lukewarm, with shorter lead times and some indications of surprisingly weak preorders. Investors are concerned that the standard premium iPhone cycle may not justify Apple’s valuation. Apple iPhone 18 Pro demand
• Negative Sentiment: The redesigned Siri is launching under a beta label with language, regional, device and waitlist restrictions. Reported usage caps and response times of five to 15 seconds could delay the expected AI-driven upgrade cycle. Apple Siri AI rollout
• Negative Sentiment: India’s consumer regulator escalated an investigation into Apple’s software warranty terms and repair costs, creating potential regulatory, reputational and financial risk in an important growth market. India investigation into Apple

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $370.00 price target (down from $380.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Phillip Securities boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. KGI Securities downgraded shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $338.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at $11,345,787.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,194 shares of company stock worth $2,245,142. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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