Zullo Investment Group Inc. Sells 1,695 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Zullo Investment Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 157,905 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,695 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 15.6% of Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $45,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in 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 buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% in 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 buying an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $326.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $317.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.17. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.65 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.08. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.23, for a total transaction of $456,176.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 34,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,897,484.96. This represents a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 7,310 shares of company stock worth $2,279,378 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: iPhone Duo creates a potential new growth cycle. Apple unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the $1,999 iPhone Duo, which is scheduled to reach stores October 23. Analysts believe the device could stimulate upgrades, expand ecosystem engagement and add a significant premium-revenue stream. Some bullish estimates suggest foldables could eventually represent 10% to 20% of iPhone revenue. How Wall Street viewed Apple’s foldable iPhone
• Positive Sentiment: Investors viewed the launch as evidence of renewed hardware innovation under CEO John Ternus. Alongside the Duo, Apple introduced the iPhone 18 Pro models, new Apple Watches, AirPods 5 and expanded Siri AI features. TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating with a $400 price target, while Citi and other analysts also remained constructive. TD Cowen reiterates Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Carrier promotions may improve affordability. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon are introducing installment and trade-in offers for the expensive Duo, potentially reducing sticker-price resistance without triggering an industrywide price war. Wireless carrier promotions
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided. Bank of America kept its Buy rating but reduced its price target to $370, citing an earnings tradeoff, while Rosenblatt retained a $303 Neutral target. The key questions are demand, supply constraints and whether premium pricing offsets higher component costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure is a major risk. Apple raised iPhone Pro prices by $100, but memory and other component costs are rising rapidly. Analysts warn that the price increases may not fully protect profitability, particularly during the initial foldable launch period.
• Negative Sentiment: China presents a tougher competitive backdrop. Apple’s new CEO faces stronger local rivals, including Huawei, and uncertainty over whether the Duo can regain momentum in China. The broader market also faced pressure from surging oil prices and Treasury yields, increasing the risk of multiple compression.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling adds a modest cautionary signal. SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares for approximately $456,000, reducing her direct ownership by about 4%, though she continues to hold a substantial position.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $334.91.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its principal products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware products.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, Apple Pay and iCloud. These services provide digital content, payments, cloud storage and subscription offerings across the company’s ecosystem of devices.

Founded in 1976, Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California, and serves consumers, businesses, educational institutions and government customers worldwide.