Vicus Capital Buys 3,700 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Vicus Capital increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,542 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 1.1% of Vicus Capital’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position 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 during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its position in Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $269.48 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $268.11 and its 200 day moving average is $252.84. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The company’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals and analyst support — Wall Street analysts are reiterating buys and raising price targets after Apple’s strong quarter and iPhone 17 demand, which underpins revenue and margin upside. Apple Inc.: Reaffirmed Buy on Strengthening Services Ecosystem and Broad-Based App Store Recovery
• Positive Sentiment: AI/tooling integration that can boost developer ecosystem — Apple added agentic coding support (Anthropic’s Claude Agent and OpenAI’s Codex) to Xcode, which could accelerate app development and stickiness in the App Store over time. Apple adds agents from Anthropic and OpenAI to its coding tool
• Positive Sentiment: Sentiment drivers and media endorsements — high-profile bullish commentary (e.g., Jim Cramer) and inflows into innovation ETFs that include Apple support near‑term momentum and investor confidence. Jim Cramer Says “I Think Apple’s Quarter Was Fantastic and Its Future Remains Bright”
• Neutral Sentiment: Content/brand initiatives — Apple TV+ will debut Mattel’s “Matchbox The Movie” in October; small for near‑term revenues but supports services/brand extension. Apple TV sets October launch for Mattel’s ‘Matchbox’ car movie
• Neutral Sentiment: Market chatter and unusual data points — several feeds report odd/zero short‑interest figures for February (likely data noise) and high search/activity around AAPL; useful for gauging retail attention but not a direct fundamental catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: AI talent drain — reports Apple has lost several AI researchers to Meta and Google, which raises execution risk for long‑term AI initiatives versus better-funded rivals. Apple Loses More AI Researchers to Meta and Google
• Negative Sentiment: Supply competition from AI chip demand — TSMC capacity is being stretched by Nvidia’s AI ramp, which could pressure Apple’s manufacturing cadence or component availability if capacity constraints persist. Nvidia’s AI Takeover Leaves Apple Fighting for Supply

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Bank of America increased their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.70.

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.