Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,731,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,244 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 5.3% of Whittier Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $541,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $364.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.53.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s leadership handoff could support innovation: Ternus is a longtime hardware executive and product builder, while Cook will remain with Apple as executive chairman. Investors are also looking ahead to the company’s September 9 product event, which could feature new iPhones and other devices. Apple To Begin New Chapter With CEO John Ternus
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlight continuing operating strengths, including strong iPhone share, potential gains as global smartphone shipments weaken, robust recent earnings, and increased fiscal-year EPS estimates. Apple’s planned U.S. manufacturing and AI-server investment could also reduce tariff and supply-chain exposure. Global Phone Shipments Drop, but Apple Positioned for Record iOS Market Share Gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Cook’s departure is being viewed as both a successful succession plan and a major test. His final message endorsed Ternus and emphasized continuity, but investors will judge the new CEO quickly based on the fall product cycle, Siri and Apple’s broader AI strategy. John Ternus to lead Apple into the age of AI
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s AI strategy remains a key concern because it relies substantially on outside partners while rivals are perceived as farther ahead. At the same time, veteran executive Phil Schiller relinquished oversight of the App Store and product events, adding uncertainty during the CEO change. Apple’s top App Store executive departs operational roles
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory costs reportedly prompted significant Mac and iPad price increases, potentially pressuring demand. Apple also disclosed allegations in a trade-secret lawsuit that an OpenAI employee accessed a circuit schematic, creating legal and competitive-risk headlines. Apple alleges OpenAI employee accessed circuit plans
• Negative Sentiment: Monday’s wider market selloff, linked to escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, also weighed on large technology stocks and added pressure to AAPL.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.95, for a total transaction of $447,457.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,576,357.55. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,433 shares of company stock valued at $1,367,024 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.9%

AAPL opened at $316.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $4.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.34, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $225.95 and a one year high of $344.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $312.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released 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 net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors 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 was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

About Apple

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.