WNY Asset Management LLC Takes $16.59 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

WNY Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 65,378 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $16,592,000. Apple accounts for 1.7% of WNY Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total transaction of $442,852.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,342,929.25. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly training a China-specific large language model with Alibaba’s support. The initiative could bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese users, improve Apple’s competitive position against Huawei and reduce reliance on third-party AI models in a key market. Apple trains China-specific AI model
• Positive Sentiment: Apple opened an advanced manufacturing center in Houston that will support AI-server production, Mac mini assembly and workforce training. The facility reinforces Apple’s U.S. investment plans and may improve supply-chain resilience and relations with policymakers. Apple opens Houston manufacturing facility
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly received about $2.2 billion in tariff refunds. The cash recovery could offset some trade-related expenses and support near-term earnings and cash flow. Apple tariff refund report
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is discussing usage-based content agreements with publishers to improve the upgraded Siri’s access to current information. A stronger Siri could help narrow Apple’s perceived AI gap and support future services growth. Apple publisher talks for Siri
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple proposed a 15% commission on purchases made through external links in iOS apps amid its continuing legal dispute with Epic. The proposal could preserve some App Store revenue, but the final regulatory and legal outcome remains uncertain. Apple proposes external purchase commission
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s valuation remains demanding, with a market capitalization near $4.5 trillion and a forward earnings outlook that leaves the stock sensitive to execution. An insider sale by SVP Jennifer Newstead was disclosed, though such transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in corporate fundamentals. Apple insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple, citing concerns about the canceled or delayed all-glass iPhone concept, limited near-term AI momentum and rising memory-chip costs. Higher component prices could pressure margins and make it harder for Apple to justify its premium valuation. Jefferies Apple downgrade and iPhone concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s Pixel 11 is placing Gemini more deeply into the smartphone experience, raising the competitive stakes for Apple ahead of the iPhone 18 launch and Siri’s broader overhaul.

Apple Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $305.93 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.78 and a 1-year high of $344.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $308.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 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 $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down from $370.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.60.

Apple 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.