Zhang Financial LLC Grows Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Zhang Financial LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 226,060 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,352 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.0% of Zhang Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $57,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in 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 buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported record June-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and diluted EPS of $2.02, exceeding Wall Street expectations. iPhone revenue rose 22% to $54.3 billion, while Mac revenue increased 29% to $10.4 billion. Apple reports third quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s large installed base, strong hardware demand and potential consumer-AI opportunities remain long-term supports. Some analysts remain bullish: TD Cowen raised its price target to $400, while other firms maintained Buy or Overweight ratings despite trimming estimates. Analyst raises Apple price target
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, payable August 13 to shareholders of record August 10. Apple also continues to emphasize an AI strategy that requires less capital spending than the infrastructure-heavy approach used by some peers. Apple Q3 financial results

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.60.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $308.91 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.50 and a 12 month high of $344.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average is $309.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.60.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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