First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 900,803 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 20.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,213,875 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 900,803 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 0.9% of First Trust Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,323,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price target on Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.44.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planned CEO transition appears orderly. Tim Cook will step down in September and be succeeded by longtime Apple executive John Ternus, a veteran with experience dating back to the Steve Jobs era. Cook’s endorsement and Ternus’ familiarity with Apple’s products may reduce concerns about strategic disruption. Tim Cook Says There’s ‘No Better Person’ to Take Over at Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Core business momentum remains strong. Apple’s latest quarter exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up roughly 16% year over year. Broad iPhone, Mac and Services demand continues to support the bullish case. Tim Cook’s Last Quarter as CEO Was Apple’s Best June Quarter Ever
• Positive Sentiment: App Store monetization is holding up. App Store revenue increased slightly despite a 4% decline in iPhone and iPad downloads, as revenue per download rose 4.7%. This suggests continued pricing and engagement resilience in a key Services business. Apple App Store Revenue Ticks Up Despite Falling Downloads
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is seeking dismissal of Apple’s trade-secrets lawsuit. OpenAI denies misappropriating confidential information related to Apple’s consumer-hardware efforts. The filing does not resolve the dispute, leaving legal and competitive uncertainty in place. OpenAI Seeks Dismissal of Apple’s Trade Secrets Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term cost and growth pressures are weighing on sentiment. Rising memory prices, supply constraints and policy risks could pressure margins, while slower Services growth has prompted some firms to downgrade Apple to Hold or Moderate Sell. Apple’s Capex Strategy Worked But Other Pressures Are Mounting
• Negative Sentiment: Competition in emerging hardware is increasing. Samsung reported a 30% rise in foldable-device preorders, highlighting a market Apple has yet to enter. Investors may view future Apple foldables as an opportunity, but execution and timing remain uncertain. Samsung Foldable Preorders Jump 30%

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $313.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $309.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $219.25 and a 52-week high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

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.