WealthShield Partners LLC Invests $12.30 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• WealthShield Partners acquired 42,498 Apple shares worth approximately $12.3 million in the second quarter, making Apple its fifth-largest holding and about 1.9% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple reported quarterly EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $109.42 billion, surpassing analyst estimates, while revenue increased 16.4% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, yielding 0.3% annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains a Moderate Buy, with a consensus price target of $340.14, although some brokerages recently downgraded the stock. Apple shares opened at $337.02, near their one-year high of $345.34.

WealthShield Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 42,498 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $12,297,000. Apple makes up approximately 1.9% of WealthShield Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Chou Associates Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $11,574,000. W1M Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $21,022,000. New Dimensions Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $251,182. Madison Wealth Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $16,697,000. Finally, Krane Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.19, for a total transaction of $474,813.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,867,873.66. The trade was a 4.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,632 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $337.02 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $321.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.51. The company has a market cap of $4.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.65, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $243.42 and a one year high of $345.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS 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 issued 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 currently 12.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. KGI Securities cut shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.14.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and assigned a $370 price target, implying further upside. The firm highlighted improving iPhone 18 Pro Max availability trends, while premium demand remains relatively resilient. BofA Sends Stark Message to Apple Stock Investors on iPhone 18
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new M6 Mac mini and M5 Mac Studio are being marketed as lower-cost alternatives to cloud-based AI infrastructure, potentially expanding Apple’s enterprise opportunity. Their ability to run large AI models locally could create a new hardware growth driver. With new Macs, Apple aims to take on Microsoft and Nvidia
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is developing a screenless fitness tracker to compete with Whoop and Oura point to potential long-term expansion in health and wearables, although a launch may not occur until 2028. Apple could take on Whoop with a new fitness tracker

Apple Company 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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