Mad River Investors Purchases New Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Mad River Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,000 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,273,000. Apple accounts for approximately 0.5% of Mad River Investors’ holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 41.0% in the second quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. CLSA boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Argus set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $273.76 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.85. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.92%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors are pricing in a faster growth profile for Apple next year — a widely circulated take is that Apple is likely to return to double‑digit revenue growth in fiscal 2026, driven by iPhone strength and Services, supporting the bull case for multiple and earnings upgrades. Apple Is Likely to Return to Double-Digit Revenue Growth in Fiscal 2026 — and the Stock Looks Like a Buy
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights Apple as an “AI outlier” — a late but powerful entrant — noting steady analyst upgrades and price‑target raises, plus iPhone/service momentum that could sustain upside as AI features are rolled into consumer products. 5 Stocks Set to Start Strong in January and Lead Through 2026 (AAPL)
• Positive Sentiment: CNBC coverage of the Mag‑7 split frames a market that rewards companies that can monetize AI rather than simply spending heavily on capex — a setup that investors say favors distribution‑first players like Apple that can drive software/services revenue from a huge installed base. AI spend is forcing a Mag 7 reckoning — and the gap could widen in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer‑term AI theme pieces (the “application‑layer rotation”) argue capital is moving from chipmakers to software shops; Apple is mentioned as a potential beneficiary over time but is cast as a latecomer, so near‑term impact is uncertain. The Application-Layer Rotation: 3 AI Pure Plays Poised to Win in 2026 (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Performance roundups note Apple’s steady 2025 gains (year‑to‑date performance and a defensive, cash‑generative profile), a reminder that broader market positioning and index flows remain tailwinds but not new catalysts. $1,000 invested in Apple stock at the start of 2025 returned
• Negative Sentiment: Social and data‑driven summaries flag mixed sentiment around Apple’s AI model releases and continuing regulatory/legal scrutiny; the same QuiverQuant summary also highlights heavy insider selling over the last six months, which can sap near‑term sentiment even if fundamentals remain intact. Apple Inc. Stock (AAPL) Opinions on AI Model Release and Regulatory Updates

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.