Vectors Research Management LLC Acquires 1,890 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Vectors Research Management increased its Apple stake by 4.6% in the first quarter, adding 1,890 shares to hold 42,586 shares worth approximately $10.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple reported a strong fiscal third quarter, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year to $109.42 billion and EPS of $2.02, beating analyst expectations. iPhone and Mac revenue grew 22% and 29%, respectively.
• Apple declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $331.60; the stock recently traded at $308.91, down 7.4%.

Vectors Research Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,586 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 1,890 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.2% of Vectors Research Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Vectors Research Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $10,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported record June-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and diluted EPS of $2.02, exceeding Wall Street expectations. iPhone revenue rose 22% to $54.3 billion, while Mac revenue increased 29% to $10.4 billion. Apple reports third quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s large installed base, strong hardware demand and potential consumer-AI opportunities remain long-term supports. Some analysts remain bullish: TD Cowen raised its price target to $400, while other firms maintained Buy or Overweight ratings despite trimming estimates. Analyst raises Apple price target
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, payable August 13 to shareholders of record August 10. Apple also continues to emphasize an AI strategy that requires less capital spending than the infrastructure-heavy approach used by some peers. Apple Q3 financial results

Apple Trading Down 7.4%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $308.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $309.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.45. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $201.50 and a one year high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 142.29%. 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 prior year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. KeyCorp reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $331.60.

About Apple

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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