USA Financial Formulas Buys 3,427 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• USA Financial Formulas dramatically increased its Apple stake by purchasing 3,427 additional shares in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 3,434 shares valued at approximately $872,000.
• Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple’s outstanding stock, with several other funds also raising their positions during the fourth quarter.
• Apple carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $334.91, while shares recently traded at $332.27. Analysts remain focused on the growth potential of new products, alongside risks from margin pressure, premium valuation and competition.

USA Financial Formulas increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 48,957.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,434 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,427 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas' holdings in Apple were worth $872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.23, for a total transaction of $456,176.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 34,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,897,484.96. This trade represents a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,310 shares of company stock worth $2,279,378. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $370.00 price target (down from $380.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $303.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $334.91.

Apple Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $332.27 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $229.02 and a 1-year high of $344.57. 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 $4.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $318.20 and a 200-day moving average of $292.45.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.27 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 12.39%.

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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