FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 16,511 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 6.8% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Apple were worth $32,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,074,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 3.1% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 73,558 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. O Dell Group LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.7% in the third quarter. O Dell Group LLC now owns 91,893 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $23,399,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 54.8% during the 3rd quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 25,662 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,534,000 after purchasing an additional 9,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 26,928 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,857,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple preparing to allow third‑party voice AI/chatbots (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) in CarPlay — a strategic shift that could boost in‑car services, user engagement and partnerships across the AI ecosystem. Apple plans to allow external voice-controlled AI chatbots in CarPlay
• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q1 results (higher‑than‑expected revenue and EPS, large iPhone sales) continue to support investor confidence and explain why AAPL is outperforming many Big Tech peers after the AI‑led sell‑off.
• Positive Sentiment: EU says Apple Ads and Apple Maps should not be designated under the Digital Markets Act — avoids potential regulatory constraints and commercial disruption in Europe. Apple Ads and Apple Maps should not be designated under Digital Markets Act, says EU
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and bullish price targets remain — several firms have reiterated Outperform/Overweight calls and above‑consensus targets (median recent target ~$310), underpinning investor interest. Evercore ISI stays Outperform on Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Inclusion in new Big Tech ETF offerings and continued institutional buying signal durable demand from funds and passive vehicles. Big Tech Core: New Burney ETF Packs Apple, Nvidia, Google, Broadcom Punch
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data currently shows anomalies (reporting zeros/NaN) and offers no clear signal on bearish positioning — not market‑moving as reported.
• Neutral Sentiment: Global memory‑chip shortages raise questions about iPhone pricing vs. margin trade‑offs; could preserve margins (price increases) or dent volume if Apple raises prices — impact unclear near term. Pricier iPhones? Global memory chip crunch puts spotlight on Apple
• Negative Sentiment: Apple has scaled back its AI health‑coach initiative (project “Mulberry”), highlighting execution and monetization challenges for new paid services tied to health/wearables. That could temper parts‑of‑services growth expectations. Apple Scales Back AI Health Coach Plans
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing insider selling is visible in regulatory filings; while routine at large cap firms, it can be interpreted negatively by some investors when concentrated.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $278.12 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $268.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.62. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.70.

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.