Sutton Place Investors LLC Acquires Shares of 20,815 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Sutton Place Investors initiated a 20,815-share Apple position valued at approximately $6.0 million, making Apple its seventh-largest holding and representing 2.9% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $2.02 per share and revenue of $109.42 billion, up 16.4% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $334.91, though concerns include Apple’s elevated valuation, margin pressure from rising component costs, competition, and recent insider selling.

Sutton Place Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $6,023,000. Apple accounts for approximately 2.9% of Sutton Place Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

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

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $332.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business's 50-day moving average is $318.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.63. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.02 and a 1 year high of $344.57.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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 presently 12.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.23, for a total value of $456,176.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 34,352 shares in the company, valued at $10,897,484.96. This trade represents a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 7,310 shares of company stock valued at $2,279,378 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. KGI Securities lowered shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $334.91.

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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