Dillon & Associates Inc. Sells 7,547 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Dillon & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 257,384 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,547 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 8.4% of Dillon & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Dillon & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $65,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $274.62 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.15%.

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)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research set a $345.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $239.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.