Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Westfuller Advisors LLC

Westfuller Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 15.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,909 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,596 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.6% of Westfuller Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Westfuller Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of AAPL opened at $319.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.95 and a 12 month high of $344.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $315.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% 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 5,872 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,201 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $285.56 to $263.66 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.61.

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.