Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 413,306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,147 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.4% of Vest Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $137,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $30,443,242,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $13,658,359,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $10,588,946,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $370.00 to $330.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Moffett Nathanson set a $283.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total value of $63,846,078.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. This trade represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 290,212 shares of company stock worth $96,639,685. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported quarterly revenue of $114.48 billion and EPS of $2.10, topping estimates, with double-digit growth in hardware and services. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Apple Intelligence cleared a Chinese regulatory step for use on tablets and laptops, potentially expanding the service’s reach in a major market. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has begun offering $49.99 add-on packs for extra AI usage in Creator Studio, a potential new revenue stream from its AI features. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary points to resilient iPhone demand and Apple’s comparatively restrained AI spending as advantages amid investor concerns about heavy AI investment elsewhere. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple issued $7.5 billion in senior unsecured notes. The financing provides capital but also adds debt; the announcement does not specify a direct operating catalyst. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Reports warn that rising memory-chip costs could pressure margins, while some analysts question whether Apple’s valuation leaves limited room for further gains. Article

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $350.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $336.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.02. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $355.38. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 125.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 12.04%.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS.

The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.