Sound Portfolio Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 1,799 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Sound Portfolio Advisors initiated a position in Apple by purchasing 1,799 shares valued at approximately $521,000. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple’s stock.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $2.02 per share and revenue of $109.42 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 16.4% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $334.91, though concerns include Apple’s elevated valuation, potential margin pressure from rising component costs and continued insider selling.

Sound Portfolio Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,799 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $521,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $332.27 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $229.02 and a one year high of $344.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $318.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 is 12.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. BTIG Research began coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. KeyCorp reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $334.91.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,310 shares of company stock worth $2,279,378. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines 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.

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.

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