33,727 Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL Acquired by Towercrest Capital Management

Towercrest Capital Management bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 33,727 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $9,759,000. Apple accounts for about 1.4% of Towercrest Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 7,310 shares of company stock worth $2,279,378 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: iPhone Duo creates a potential new growth cycle. Apple’s $1,999 foldable iPhone, scheduled to arrive October 23, could drive upgrades, deepen ecosystem engagement and add a high-margin premium product category. Some analysts believe foldables could eventually account for 10% to 20% of iPhone revenue. How Wall Street viewed Apple’s foldable iPhone
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see renewed hardware momentum. Alongside the Duo, Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, new Apple Watch models, AirPods 5 and expanded Siri AI features. TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating with a $400 target, supporting the bullish reaction. TD Cowen reiterates Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Carrier promotions could reduce sticker-price resistance. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon are offering installment and trade-in incentives for the expensive Duo, potentially broadening access without an immediate industrywide price war. Wireless carrier promotions
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided. Bank of America retained a Buy rating but lowered its price target to $370, while Rosenblatt kept a Neutral rating and $303 target. The debate centers on Duo demand, supply constraints, valuation and the durability of the upgrade cycle.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure remains the main risk. Apple raised iPhone Pro prices by $100, but memory and other component costs are rising rapidly. Management has already guided to lower gross margins, raising concerns that pricing may not fully offset higher costs. Apple margin pressure from memory costs
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and competition limit upside. Apple trades near the upper end of its historical earnings multiple, while Huawei, Xiaomi and Samsung remain strong competitors in China and the foldable market.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a modest cautionary signal. SVP Jennifer Newstead sold approximately $456,000 of stock, reducing her direct holdings by about 4%, although she retains a substantial position.

Apple Stock Up 1.7%

AAPL stock opened at $332.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $318.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.45. The company has a market capitalization of $4.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $229.02 and a twelve month high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $366.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Phillip Securities lowered Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $304.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $334.91.

Apple 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.