Country Trust Bank Sells 91,588 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Country Trust Bank lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 662,971 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 91,588 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.7% of Country Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $168,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first 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 last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its holdings in Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $99,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly FCF, revenue and margins jumped, lifting AAPL target values and prompting bullish options strategies (short near-term OTM puts or long-dated ITM calls) as investors position for continued cash-flow strength. Apple’s FCF Margins Surge and Its Target Value Rises – What’s the Best AAPL Stock Play?
• Positive Sentiment: New-product cycle expected soon (iPhone 17e, updated iPads and refreshed Macs) — supports revenue visibility from hardware refreshes and accessory/services attach. Apple to Debut iPhone 17e, New iPads, Fresh Macs
• Positive Sentiment: Apple will allow third‑party AI chatbots in CarPlay, widening its ecosystem and potentially creating new services/monetization channels. Apple to Allow Third-Party AI Chatbots in CarPlay
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile investors (Peter Thiel’s fund) include Apple in contrarian AI exposure, signaling institutional conviction that Apple can play a role in the AI cycle. Thiel Bypasses Palantir and Nvidia for Meta, Tesla, Apple in Contrarian AI Play
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Tim Cook has pushed back on the idea Apple is falling behind in AI, highlighting progress on Apple’s AI platform — still leaves investors parsing timing and competitive edge vs. pure-play AI leaders. Is Apple Falling Behind in Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Here’s What CEO Tim Cook Just Said.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentators expect continued volatility and a stock‑picker environment; that can favor active option strategies around large-cap names like Apple. Coons: Volatility Going Nowhere, GOOGL, AAPL & CRWD Next AI Winners
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the fundamentals, Apple is lagging today as money rotates into perceived AI/semiconductor winners (e.g., Nvidia), weighing on AAPL’s near‑term performance. Stock Market Today: Dow Gains As Nvidia Jumps; Apple Lags, Energy Stock Tests Entry (Live Coverage)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $239.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.70.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $274.62 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $267.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.15%.

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.