Greenwood Gearhart LLC Buys 7,719 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Greenwood Gearhart LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 226,392 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.1% of Greenwood Gearhart LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Greenwood Gearhart LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $57,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at about $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in Apple by 890.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: India proposed extending tax exemptions for equipment suppliers to contract manufacturers through 2041. The policy could support Apple’s effort to expand iPhone production in India and reduce reliance on China. India proposes extending tax breaks for contract manufacturing in a boost for Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bullish investors argue that Apple’s capital-light AI strategy could eventually pay off through its enormous installed base, device upgrades and Services ecosystem, without the infrastructure spending burden faced by hyperscalers. Apple’s AI Strategy Looks Different—Will It Pay Off?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s acquisition of PlasmaSolve could improve manufacturing simulations, device coatings and production yields, potentially supporting thinner and stronger future hardware. AAPL Stock Alert: What to Know as Apple Acquires PlasmaSolve
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple asked a U.S. court to block OpenAI and two former employees from using alleged trade secrets. OpenAI has responded by calling the case careless and publishing private communications; the dispute could affect OpenAI’s hardware plans but remains legally unresolved. Apple seeks preliminary injunction against OpenAI in trade secrets case
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also challenging a U.K. demand for access to encrypted user data. A favorable outcome could protect its privacy positioning, while prolonged regulatory litigation creates uncertainty. Apple launches fresh legal challenge against UK encrypted data access demand
• Negative Sentiment: The strongest pressure remains financial: Apple exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, but its outlook was viewed as disappointing. Higher memory and component costs, supply constraints, a Services revenue miss and delayed Apple Intelligence features have undermined confidence in near-term growth.
• Negative Sentiment: China Renaissance, DZ Bank and Phillip Securities downgraded AAPL, citing persistent memory inflation, supply risks and uncertainty over Apple Intelligence returns. With the stock trading around 35 times earnings and a PEG ratio above 2.6, investors are demanding substantial growth to justify the valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: The CEO transition adds execution risk. While some coverage views Cook’s departure as a well-prepared succession, investors will watch whether John Ternus can accelerate AI development and sustain Apple’s growth momentum.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $309.46 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $202.16 and a 12 month high of $344.57. The company has a market cap of $4.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $309.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.Apple’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. KGI Securities cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.44.

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.