Matrix Private Capital Group LLC Acquires New Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Matrix Private Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 7,408 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,880,000. Apple accounts for approximately 0.9% of Matrix Private Capital Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. 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: Apple is testing memory chips from China’s CXMT for some iPhones and MacBooks sold in China. If approved by U.S. authorities, the move could provide an additional supply source and help mitigate shortages caused by surging AI-related demand. Apple tests China’s CXMT memory chips
• Positive Sentiment: Some Apple-focused investors, including Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster, argue that the shares remain undervalued and that future iPhone price increases, artificial-intelligence features and a potential upgrade cycle could support longer-term growth. Gene Munster disagrees with Apple downgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is scheduled to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share on August 13 to eligible shareholders, providing a modest near-term shareholder return. Apple dividend payment
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple from Hold to Underperform and cut its price target to $263.66 from $285.56. Analyst Edison Lee reportedly believes Apple has scrapped a planned all-glass iPhone because of production challenges, removing a potential premium product that could have lifted average selling prices and profitability. Apple could underperform without an all-glass iPhone
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage costs are rising sharply amid the AI-driven supply crunch; reports suggest iPhone 18 production costs could increase by roughly 38%. Apple may need to raise prices, risking weaker demand, or absorb the costs, pressuring margins. Apple’s iPhone 18 costs could jump 38%
• Negative Sentiment: The CXMT testing also introduces geopolitical and execution risks: U.S. restrictions could limit Apple’s access to the supplier, while CXMT’s capacity and technology may lag established memory manufacturers. These issues add uncertainty to Apple’s supply chain and pricing strategy.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Phillip Securities lowered Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $364.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $308.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $309.49 and its 200 day moving average is $283.86. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $223.78 and a one year high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

About Apple

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.