S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 66,220 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,326 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.1% of S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $21,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 630,662,494 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $182,897,769,000 after buying an additional 28,321,085 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,443,242,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Apple by 23.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,547,637,000 after acquiring an additional 13,780,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
Insider Transactions at Apple
In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total value of $15,467,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $45,615,190.20. This trade represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. The trade was 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 have sold a total of 281,782 shares of company stock worth $93,740,172 in the last 90 days. 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: Apple and Meta Platforms are collaborating to let developers run Meta’s large Muse AI model locally on high-end Mac computers. The partnership could strengthen the Mac’s appeal for AI workloads while reducing reliance on cloud computing. Apple and Meta team up to make Muse AI model run on Mac computers
- Positive Sentiment: Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the 7.6-inch iPhone Duo, begins preorders Friday. A successful launch could open a new premium product category and support revenue growth, although its high price makes demand uncertain. iPhone Duo preorders begin Friday
- Positive Sentiment: Apple recently closed above a $5 trillion market capitalization, reinforcing investor confidence and highlighting the stock’s recent momentum. Reports also indicate Apple Intelligence may finally launch in mainland China in December, expanding the potential user base. Apple tops $5 trillion valuation
- Neutral Sentiment: The China AI rollout is reportedly limited and may exclude the upgraded Siri and Genmoji features, making the launch strategically important but less compelling than a full-featured release. Apple Intelligence in China
- Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain concerned that Apple is spending less on AI than rivals and could fall behind in advanced assistants, while the stock’s elevated valuation leaves less room for execution disappointments. Reported iPhone 18 Pro component-order reductions add to demand concerns. Apple reportedly cuts iPhone 18 orders
- Negative Sentiment: Apple is challenging a $5.7 billion damages ruling in a patent case, while OpenAI alleges that a former employee who joined Apple took confidential information about an unreleased device. Both matters create potential financial and reputational risk. Apple challenges Taction damages ruling
- Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 Apple shares for approximately $828,000. The transaction is relatively small compared with Apple’s market value, but insider selling can add modest short-term pressure.
Apple Price Performance
Shares of AAPL opened at $342.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.42 and a 1-year high of $348.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $325.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.90.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.
Apple Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 12.39%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $355.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Phillip Securities increased their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $340.39.
View Our Latest Analysis on AAPL
Apple Profile
Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets 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 software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.
Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.
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