Van Diest Capital LLC Has $4.46 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Van Diest Capital LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 197.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,586 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 11,666 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.5% of Van Diest Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Van Diest Capital LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 890.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple News Summary

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.

Apple Stock Down 1.6%

AAPL stock opened at $308.26 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.35, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.78 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $309.49 and a 200-day moving average of $283.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The business 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $285.56 to $263.66 in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.60.

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.