Sather Financial Group Inc Buys 3,422 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sather Financial Group Inc lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,656 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,422 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 0.5% of Sather Financial Group Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Sather Financial Group Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock worth $1,823,201. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Sept. 9 product event is generating significant interest under new CEO John Ternus, with expectations for new iPhones, an Apple Watch update and potentially the company’s first foldable iPhone. Citi estimates the foldable device could sell 7.3 million units despite a possible price above $2,000. Citi foldable iPhone sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed strong momentum, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year and earnings exceeding analyst expectations. Morgan Stanley has also suggested the foldable iPhone could contribute roughly $14 billion in December-quarter revenue if successfully launched. Morgan Stanley foldable iPhone estimate
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has succeeded Tim Cook as CEO, while Cook remains executive chairman. The transition offers continuity through a longtime Apple executive but raises questions about whether Ternus can accelerate Apple’s artificial-intelligence strategy and sustain Cook-era growth. John Ternus becomes Apple CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate initial foldable iPhone production was only a few hundred units per day in late August. Tight quality controls and memory shortages could limit launch supply, delay purchases and prevent Apple from fully capturing expected demand. Foldable iPhone production hurdles
• Negative Sentiment: Memory costs have reportedly surged, potentially forcing Apple to raise iPhone prices, absorb lower margins or risk weaker demand. Jefferies has also downgraded AAPL amid skepticism about the foldable product’s market potential. iPhone memory cost concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a $2.7 billion UK lawsuit over alleged unfair app-tracking rules and a separate BASF patent lawsuit involving facial-authentication technology, adding regulatory and litigation risk. Apple UK app-tracking lawsuit

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.61.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $319.97 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $315.65 and its 200 day moving average is $290.59. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $225.95 and a 1 year high of $344.57. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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 is presently 12.39%.

Apple Company Profile

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.