Apple Inc. $AAPL is Aspiriant LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Aspiriant LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 292,895 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,420 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.3% of Aspiriant LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $74,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 333.3% in 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 purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 41.0% during the second quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $99,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $270.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.14, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $268.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $252.43.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $239.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.41.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong iPhone 17 demand drove better-than-expected Q1 results and margin expansion, supporting upgrades and a more bullish outlook for revenue and profitability. The iPhone 17 Changed Everything For Apple – See China (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Big banks reiterated bullish calls (Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan) citing continued iPhone 17 strength — analyst support is lifting sentiment and contributed to price-target increases. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Bullish on Apple Inc. (AAPL) on Strong iPhone 17 Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages raised price targets and upgraded Apple after the quarter, adding buy-side momentum and helping push the stock higher. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $315.00
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI launched a Codex coding-assistant app for Apple computers, highlighting tighter AI app integration in the Mac ecosystem and potential demand/support for Mac hardware and services. OpenAI Unveils Codex App for Use with Apple (AAPL) Computers
• Positive Sentiment: Report that Apple acquired Israeli AI/audio startup Q.ai (≈$2B) strengthens the company’s AI content/capability pipeline and supports the AI narrative. Apple Inc. (AAPL) Acquires Israeli Startup Q.ai For Approximately $2 Billion: Report
• Neutral Sentiment: T. Rowe Price launched an active Innovation Leaders ETF that lists Apple as a core holding — potential incremental passive/active inflows but not immediate earnings impact. Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft Anchor T. Rowe Price’s New Active ETF Targeting Innovators
• Neutral Sentiment: India’s policy allowing foreign-funded equipment for contract manufacturers is a structural win for Apple’s India build-out and long-term cost/scale — supports supply diversification. India hands Apple a win by letting foreign firms fund equipment for manufacturers
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in the feed are effectively zero/erroneous and aren’t influencing the move; no clear short-squeeze signal from this data. (Source: short-interest entry)
• Negative Sentiment: Supply risk: TSMC’s capacity shift toward AI chips (Nvidia demand) could squeeze Apple’s wafer allocations and exacerbate chip constraints, a risk to near-term production and inventory. Nvidia’s AI Takeover Leaves Apple Fighting For Supply
• Negative Sentiment: Talent and margin pressure: reports of AI researcher departures and commentary that rising AI-driven parts demand could lift component costs create medium-term execution and margin risks. Apple Loses More AI Researchers to Meta and Google The AI Boom Is Coming for Apple’s Profit Margins

Apple Profile

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.