Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Invests $8.64 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Stoneridge Investment Partners purchased 27,977 Apple shares worth approximately $8.64 million, making Apple its largest portfolio holding at 5.6%.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of Apple, while insiders own just 0.06% and have sold 7,310 shares worth $2.28 million over the past 90 days.
• Apple maintains a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $334.91; analysts see growth potential from new products but cite valuation, competition and margin pressure as risks.

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,977 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $8,642,000. Apple comprises 5.6% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the second quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC now owns 7,847 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,310 shares of company stock worth $2,279,378. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Apple News

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. China Renaissance cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $334.91.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $332.27 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.02 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57. 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 PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $318.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.63.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

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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