Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management increased its Apple position by 6,171.1% in the second quarter, purchasing 82,014 additional shares for a total of 83,343 shares valued at approximately $24.1 million.
• Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple, while analyst sentiment remains positive: the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.02.
• Apple reported quarterly revenue of $109.42 billion and earnings of $2.02 per share, exceeding estimates, but faces risks from a $5.7 billion patent verdict, higher component costs, and potential AI disruption to its services ecosystem.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6,171.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,343 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 82,014 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $24,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in Apple by 2.3% during the second quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 228,303 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $66,062,000 after purchasing an additional 5,123 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 882,325 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $255,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,851 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.6% during the second quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 107,001 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $30,962,000 after purchasing an additional 3,735 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in Apple by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 730,545 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 50,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Apple by 3.6% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 10,335,156 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,990,581,000 after purchasing an additional 355,942 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Citic Securities increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.02.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new fall product cycle is supporting revenue expectations. Morgan Stanley modestly raised its revenue forecast following the product launches, while Counterpoint expects approximately 6 million units of Apple’s $1,999 iPhone Duo foldable to be sold this year. Strong early iPhone 18 Pro demand in China—up 12% year over year during launch week—also supports near-term sales momentum. Apple’s Fall Product Cycle Could Support Revenue Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is expanding its ecosystem beyond the iPhone. Health-focused Apple Watch features, including a health-age metric and Readiness score, could help defend its wearables lead, while a planned October 13 smart-home event may introduce a new hub centered on Siri and Apple Intelligence. Apple Is Betting Improved Heart and Health Insights Will Boost Watch Sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its Apple price target to $355 from $360 but retained an Overweight rating. Analysts cited higher memory and component costs and potential iPhone pricing pressure, which largely offset the benefit from stronger product revenue. Morgan Stanley Adjusts Price Target on Apple
• Negative Sentiment: A jury ordered Apple to pay $5.7 billion over Taptic Engine patent claims, raising concerns about additional royalties and pressure on hardware margins. The company also faces a UK marketplace class action. Apple’s $5.7 Billion Patent Verdict Raises a Bigger Royalty Question
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI agents such as Meta’s Muse could bypass Apple’s App Store and weaken its high-margin services ecosystem. Analysts said Apple’s product roadmap is attractive but lacks a clear catalyst after its recent rally. Apple Stock’s Upside May Be Limited as AI Agents Could Disrupt Business
• Negative Sentiment: Apple SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares worth approximately $806,496, reducing her holdings by 5.4%. The sale is relatively small compared with her remaining stake but adds modest insider-selling pressure. Apple Insider Transaction Filing

Apple Stock Down 0.8%

AAPL stock opened at $330.32 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $322.14 and its 200 day moving average is $299.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $4.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.42 and a 1-year high of $345.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 12.39%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total transaction of $806,495.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,116,870.56. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 13,430 shares of company stock worth $4,342,255 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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 best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

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