Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,868 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,351,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd 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 lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 98,917.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 57,898,088 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% during 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 buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 3.2%

AAPL stock opened at $263.88 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $265.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.92. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The company has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.28 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 (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were 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 was 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: Apple is accelerating development of AI‑powered wearables (smart glasses, an AI pendant and camera‑equipped AirPods) that would extend Siri into “visual intelligence,” a narrative investors view as a new hardware/services growth vector. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views and raised targets (Wedbush maintained an Outperform and $350 target; Dan Ives highlighted large potential AI upside), giving investors confidence that Street expectations for Apple’s AI roadmap and valuation could rise. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market excitement ahead of Apple’s March 4 “special experience” event (multi‑city gatherings expected) is supporting the rally as investors anticipate new hardware and software updates that can broaden revenue streams. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product and services expansions — Apple rolling out video podcasts and pushing Apple Pay installment options in stores (iOS 26) — reinforce the services monetization story and recurring revenue potential. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway trimmed its Apple stake again in Q4 (continuing recent reductions), but Apple remains one of Berkshire’s largest holdings — a mixed signal that some large investors are rebalancing rather than abandoning the name. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern around delayed Siri upgrades and Apple’s relatively low AI capex vs. peers has weighed on the stock in recent weeks; unresolved Siri performance and reliance on external AI models pose execution and competitive risks. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector‑wide scrutiny of AI spending and regulator noise has pressured Big Tech valuations; broader market rotations and scrutiny of AI capex could cap upside if Apple’s AI roadmap slips. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Maxim Group raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Stephens set a $315.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Melius Research set a $345.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.13.

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.