Davis Rea LTD. Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Davis Rea LTD. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 64.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 40,173 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.3% of Davis Rea LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Davis Rea LTD.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $12,106,000 after buying an additional 57,898,088 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Phillip Securities upgraded Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.70.

Apple Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $274.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $267.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.61. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. 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 payout ratio is 13.15%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

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)

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.