Pennington Partners & CO. LLC Purchases 16,379 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Pennington Partners & CO. LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 351.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,043 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 16,379 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.8% of Pennington Partners & CO. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first 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 acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $364.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.44.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $313.33 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $219.25 and a 52-week high of $344.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $309.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.42. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 12.39%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents 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 through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Apple News

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%

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.