Wiregrass Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Wiregrass Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,016 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 6.3% of Wiregrass Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions 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 acquiring an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 21.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 108.3% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,880,000 after purchasing an additional 18,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $105,482,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.44.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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%

Apple Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $313.33 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $219.25 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $309.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.23. 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 has a market cap of $4.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.