Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Holdings Lifted by Griffith & Werner Inc.

Griffith & Werner Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,429 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.6% of Griffith & Werner Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Griffith & Werner Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $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% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 4th 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 bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. KeyCorp lowered Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. KGI Securities downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. HSBC raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.71.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly plans a major overhaul of its Mac lineup to meet demand for AI-powered computers, with new versions of every Mac product expected. That could support future hardware upgrades and help Apple participate more directly in the AI spending cycle. Apple Plans To Overhaul Computers to Meet AI Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is also set to launch a new “Apple Upgrade” device leasing program with Klarna, which could make iPhones, Macs, iPads and Apple Watches easier to finance and potentially lift replacement demand. Apple to launch ‘Upgrade’ device leasing program to spur sales, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators remain constructive on Apple’s long-term momentum, arguing the company’s ecosystem, pricing power and upcoming product cycle still support the stock despite recent volatility. Why Apple (AAPL) is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Samsung’s new foldable launches and rising prices highlight the competitive pressure in premium mobile devices, while also signaling that Apple’s expected entry into foldables is increasingly on investors’ radar. Samsung unveils wider foldable phone, hikes prices as chip costs rise
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains a top-market-cap stock and is trading near peak valuations, which keeps sentiment mixed heading into earnings and makes the shares more sensitive to any disappointment. Is Apple stock overvalued? Here’s what AlphaSpace valuation metrics say.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple lost a key court bid in its Masimo dispute, leaving a $634 million Apple Watch patent verdict in place. That legal overhang is a direct negative for sentiment because it preserves a costly judgment and keeps the litigation risk alive. Apple Fails to Overturn $634 Million Masimo Verdict
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors and analysts are warning that Apple’s stock has become expensive after a strong run, which is pressuring the shares as traders lock in gains ahead of earnings. The Risk in Apple’s Stock That Nobody Is Talking About

Apple Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $325.89 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.50 and a 12 month high of $334.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $305.49 and its 200 day moving average is $278.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.