Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Newly Purchased by Sterling Manor Financial LLC

Sterling Manor Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,967,000. Apple comprises 2.3% of Sterling Manor Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Prospect Hill Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $146,370,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $168,646,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $482,388,000. Satovsky Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $16,064,000. Finally, Gouws Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 136.9% during the 3rd quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 37,504 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,490,000 after purchasing an additional 21,676 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, with solid iPhone and Mac demand. Apple also says more apps optimized for its new foldable iPhone are coming, potentially improving the product’s appeal. Apple earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many chipmakers amid the AI-stock sell-off, and Bernstein raised its price target to $380 while maintaining a Buy rating. This relative strength may support investor sentiment. Apple holds up amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking about $7.5 billion through a bond offering. The financing provides flexibility, though the reports do not specify its use. The company is also limiting some employees’ AI-tool budgets, a move that could help control costs but raises questions about its internal AI investment. Apple bond sale report
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned of unprecedented memory-chip costs and supply constraints heading into the holiday quarter, putting gross margins at risk despite healthy demand. Investors are also weighing slower Services growth and Apple’s premium valuation. Memory costs and supply constraints

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $342.37 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.42 and a 52-week high of $355.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $336.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.50.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 125.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.68 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 12.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. China Renaissance lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $329.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $303.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Apple from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total value of $63,846,078.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. The trade was a 5.55% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 291,651 shares of company stock worth $97,082,537. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS.

The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.