William John Sempolinski Acquires 76,551 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• William John Sempolinski acquired 76,551 Apple shares worth approximately $22.15 million, making Apple about 8.9% of the investor’s portfolio and its second-largest position. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple reported quarterly EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $109.42 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 16.4% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, producing an annualized yield of 0.3%.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and average price target of $340.02, but concerns include Apple’s elevated valuation, softer iPhone pricing and higher memory costs that could pressure margins.

William John Sempolinski acquired a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 76,551 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $22,151,000. Apple makes up approximately 8.9% of William John Sempolinski's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arbor Wealth Management LLC AZ acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $231,000. Succession Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $930,000. MW Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,914,000. Maloon Powers Pitre Higgins & Dennehy LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,844,000. Finally, Markowski Investments acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,491,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $336.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.42 and a fifty-two week high of $345.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $321.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $302.11. The company has a market cap of $4.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.07.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current 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 (DPR) is 12.39%.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly partnering with LG Electronics to develop a smart-home lineup including a doorbell, smart lock, thermostat and other accessories tied to a new Apple home hub. The initiative could expand the HomeKit ecosystem, create new hardware and services revenue, and intensify competition with Amazon’s Ring and Google’s Nest. Apple partners with LG on smart-home devices
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store revenue growth reportedly rebounded to 5% in September after a weaker August. Continued Services momentum supports the company’s recurring-revenue profile, though investors are watching whether the improvement proves durable. Apple App Store growth rebounds
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares worth about $8.5 million to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting. Because the transaction was tax-related rather than described as discretionary selling, it is unlikely to materially change the investment case, though it may create short-term headline pressure. Apple CEO stock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its Apple price target to $355 despite raising revenue forecasts, citing softer iPhone pricing and higher memory-chip costs that could compress gross margins. The target is only modestly above recent trading levels, limiting perceived upside. Morgan Stanley cuts Apple price target
• Negative Sentiment: Several valuation comparisons highlight that investors pay substantially more for each dollar of Apple’s earnings than for Nvidia’s, despite Nvidia’s stronger recent profitability. With AAPL trading at an elevated earnings multiple, the stock may require sustained iPhone, Services and AI growth to justify its premium. Nvidia versus Apple valuation comparison

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Phillip Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.02.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total value of $15,467,020.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,264,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 276,984 shares of company stock valued at $92,116,025. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Profile

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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