Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation, twenty-three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $291.6991.

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. KGI Securities upgraded Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $278.12 on Monday. Apple has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $268.05 and a 200-day moving average of $254.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business 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 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 currently 13.15%.

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.