Paragon Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Paragon Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 70.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,245 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 15,052 shares during the period. Paragon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 41.0% during the second quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook teased a series of product launches next week (new iPhone, iPad, MacBook announcements), which typically lifts demand expectations and short‑term investor sentiment. Tim Cook Teases Apple Launch On Monday
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Netflix agreed to co‑broadcast the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Apple TV and Netflix, a partnership that can boost Apple TV viewership and services engagement. Apple and Netflix team up to air Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix
• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg/Reuters report Apple is in talks to launch Apple Pay in India — a multi‑hundred‑million‑user market that could materially grow services revenues over time. Apple talks with banks to start payment service in India
• Positive Sentiment: Apple moved to dismiss a proposed class action alleging it misled investors on Siri’s AI progress — if successful, this reduces a legal overhang. Apple seeks dismissal of fraud lawsuit over Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan highlighted Apple’s potential to benefit from AI “companions” and Apple Intelligence initiatives, reinforcing the view that Apple can monetize AI through devices and services. AI Companions Could Make Apple Stock an AI Winner
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in recent filings appears anomalous/zero (likely reporting error), so it provides no clear directional signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Heightened retail/institutional search and ETF coverage mention Apple as a core holding (Zacks, Vanguard ETF pieces), reflecting continued investor attention but not immediate directional impact. Investors Heavily Search Apple Inc. (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Advisors and funds continue to rebalance allocations (mentions of trades to balance Nvidia/Apple exposure), indicating portfolio flows but not a clear buy/sell signal. Advisor added to bond position to balance Nvidia and Apple holdings
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI hired a high‑profile researcher who previously led Apple’s models team, underscoring talent competition in AI that could challenge Apple’s pace of AI product development. OpenAI hires Meta AI researcher who previously led Apple’s models team
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/market pressure: coverage on Magnificent Seven profit-taking and elevated Nasdaq stress gauges suggests sectorwide selling/volatility, which depresses large-cap tech stocks including AAPL. Stocks Are Set for a February Slide. Can the Magnificent 7 Spark a March Rebound?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $276.47 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (down from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. DZ Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $293.41.

Apple Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $264.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.41. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.15%.

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.