Saiph Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Saiph Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,247 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,676 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 2.7% of Saiph Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Saiph Capital LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 14.1% during the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,189,000 after buying an additional 3,014 shares during the period. Eaton Cambridge Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 21.3% in the first quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. now owns 13,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 108.3% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,880,000 after acquiring an additional 18,188 shares during the period. Finally, Davis R M Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 1,151,352 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $292,202,000 after purchasing an additional 23,162 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $319.97 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $225.95 and a 52-week high of $344.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $315.65 and a 200 day moving average of $290.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Apple News Roundup

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. China Renaissance lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. DZ Bank lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.61.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock worth $1,823,201. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.