Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: Sustainable Growth Advisers LP Boosts Stake

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,864,370 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 116,988 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 6.8% of Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s holdings in Apple were worth $620,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% in the third quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 1,912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Forward LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Wealth Forward LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,438,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.5%

Apple stock opened at $348.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $332.37 and its 200-day moving average is $295.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.42 and a fifty-two week high of $351.73.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain optimistic ahead of earnings, citing strong demand for Apple’s new iPhone Duo, continued Services growth and potential AI-related momentum. Options activity also points to expectations for a post-earnings rally. Apple’s Q4 Earnings Loom
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its Buy rating, while Monness raised its price target to $355. Apple is also attracting attention as it approaches Nvidia in market capitalization, with revenue growth described as its fastest in about five years. Apple Stock Heads Toward All-Time High
• Positive Sentiment: Apple launched its first touchscreen MacBook Pro, featuring OLED displays and M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The move expands the Mac product cycle and could support higher average selling prices, despite the premium starting price. Apple Shows First Touchscreen Laptops
• Neutral Sentiment: Forty-seven exchange-traded funds added to their Apple holdings, indicating continued institutional demand, although the purchases do not necessarily signal near-term changes in fundamentals. 47 ETFs Add to Apple Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face margin and valuation concerns. AI-driven flash-memory demand has sharply increased component costs, while Apple’s roughly 40-times earnings multiple leaves limited room for disappointing guidance. AI Has Made Flash Memory More Expensive
• Negative Sentiment: South Korea fined Apple and Google a combined $47.6 million over alleged unfair app-payment practices. Early reports of cracked iPhone Duo screens and an executive stock sale add smaller sources of investor caution. South Korea Fines Google and Apple

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total value of $806,495.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,116,870.56. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% 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. Insiders sold 289,252 shares of company stock worth $96,301,063 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Citic Securities increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.59.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.