Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Lessened by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,213,121 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 335,897 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 5.7% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,212,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.9% in 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 buying an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,659,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. KGI Securities cut Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.61.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $328.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $314.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.13. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $225.95 and a 52 week high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of Apple’s September 9 product event, the first major launch under new CEO John Ternus. Ternus described the event as “phenomenal,” raising expectations for new premium iPhones and the company’s first foldable iPhone. Apple’s New CEO Teases “Phenomenal” iPhone Launch
• Positive Sentiment: The foldable iPhone could provide a significant new growth catalyst. Morgan Stanley estimates the device could contribute approximately $14 billion to the December quarter, while other projections suggest strong market share and premium pricing potential if demand materializes. Apple’s Foldable iPhone May Contribute $14 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $360 price target, supporting the view that Apple’s product pipeline and earnings growth can justify its premium valuation. Apple’s services business also continues to benefit from price increases to Apple TV and Apple One. Apple TV Price Hike
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has formally succeeded Tim Cook, while Cook remains executive chairman. The structure provides continuity and preserves Cook’s government and China relationships, but Ternus must prove that a product-focused strategy can improve Apple’s position in AI. Apple Leadership Transition
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple to Underperform, reportedly citing the cancellation of an all-glass MacBook or foldable MacBook project and skepticism that the foldable iPhone will be more than a niche product. Jefferies Downgrades Apple
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) UK lawsuit alleging that its App Tracking Transparency rules unfairly restrict third-party developers while favoring Apple’s own advertising services. BASF has also filed a separate patent lawsuit over face-authentication technology. BASF Patent Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory-chip costs could lift iPhone production expenses sharply, forcing Apple to raise prices, accept lower margins or risk weaker demand. Analysts remain divided, with DA Davidson maintaining a Neutral rating and a $270 price target. Apple Product and Leadership Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: An Apple senior vice president sold 1,439 shares worth about $456,000. The sale was relatively small, leaving the executive with nearly 35,800 shares, but it may add modestly to near-term investor caution. Apple Insider Trading Filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total transaction of $456,177.39. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,201 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.