Apple’s (AAPL) Buy Rating Reiterated at Bank of America

by · The Markets Daily

Bank of America reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $370.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on AAPL. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 price target on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Arete Research raised their price objective on Apple from $305.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $340.14.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Apple

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $336.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Apple has a 1-year low of $240.21 and a 1-year high of $344.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $320.24 and a 200 day moving average of $294.69. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.19, for a total transaction of $474,813.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,867,873.66. This represents a 4.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,632 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 19.6% during the second quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 36,623 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,597,000 after buying an additional 5,989 shares during the period. Wellington Altus USA Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 78.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 10,633 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,077,000 after acquiring an additional 4,674 shares during the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 600,912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $177,300,000 after acquiring an additional 135,884 shares during the period. Revere Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Apple by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Revere Asset Management Inc now owns 1,443 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $284,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its Apple price target to $380 from $365 and maintained an outperform view. A survey of roughly 4,000 consumers indicated a potentially stronger-than-expected iPhone upgrade cycle and a higher average selling price. iPhone 18 Pro Hits Stores Today
  • Positive Sentiment: iPhone 18 Pro sales are supported by carrier trade-in promotions. Bank of America said incentives can offset the $100 price increase, reducing the risk that higher prices will weaken demand. Apple’s iPhone 18 Lineup Keeps Bank of America Bullish
  • Positive Sentiment: Apple’s ecosystem is gaining additional reach. General Motors plans to restore Apple CarPlay after consumer backlash, while Apple is reportedly preparing an Apple Pay launch in India with Axis Bank. These developments could support services engagement and ecosystem adoption. GM Is Re-downloading Apple CarPlay
  • Neutral Sentiment: Initial iPhone 18 Pro demand indicators are mixed. Quick-commerce shortages in India suggest strong localized demand, but UBS cited muted wait times in several major markets. Investors are also assessing whether customers may delay purchases for Apple’s roughly $1,999 foldable iPhone Duo. Apple iPhone 18 Seeing Muted Initial Wait Times
  • Negative Sentiment: Risks include premium pricing, valuation and regulatory pressure. Analysts warn that expensive devices could limit adoption in price-sensitive markets such as India. More than 1,600 Italian Apple store employees also struck on launch day, while Apple continues to challenge a potential UK encryption backdoor order and faces European legal scrutiny. Italian Apple Store Employees Strike

Apple Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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