Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Blue Square Asset Management LLC

Blue Square Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,274 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,548 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.1% of Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter worth $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Apple by 98,917.0% during the 2nd quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,106,000 after buying an additional 57,898,088 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

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 Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $278.12 on Monday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $268.05 and a 200-day moving average of $254.18. The company has a market cap of $4.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $276.47 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.70.

Apple Company 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.