Groupama Asset Managment Acquires 78,101 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,279,533 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 78,101 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.2% of Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Apple were worth $325,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,740,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $101,301,000 after buying an additional 8,446 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Apple by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $363,256,000 after buying an additional 465,393 shares during the period. Finally, Tufton Capital Management lifted its holdings in Apple by 4.3% during the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: China strength: iPhone sales in China jumped ~23% in the first nine weeks of 2026, outpacing a weak local market and supporting Apple’s revenue and unit growth prospects in a key market. Apple’s China smartphone sales jump 23%
• Positive Sentiment: Product demand: Apple’s Mac had its best-ever launch week for first-time customers, signaling continued strength in Mac demand that can help hardware revenue mix. Apple Mac sees best ever launch week
• Positive Sentiment: Legal win on Apple Watch: A U.S. trade tribunal preliminarily ruled redesigned Apple Watches don’t infringe Masimo patents, fending off a renewed import ban and removing a regulatory/shutdown risk for Watch shipments. Apple Watch clears key patent challenge
• Positive Sentiment: AI/App Store monetization: Reporting suggests Apple made ~$900M from AI-related App Store activity last year and could top $1B soon — a recurring, high-margin revenue stream that supports services growth. Apple made $900M from AI
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO outreach: Tim Cook’s China visit reinforces focus on local partnerships and regulatory navigation — positive strategically but not an immediate earnings catalyst. Tim Cook’s China visit
• Neutral Sentiment: New integrations and content deals (Apple Health integrations, Apple TV sports/content deals) expand ecosystem stickiness but their near-term revenue impact is uncertain. Apple Health integrates with Perplexity Health
• Negative Sentiment: Security risk: Researchers flagged the “DarkSword” iOS exploit and related spyware/ghostblade campaigns targeting crypto wallets; Apple has issued alerts and pushed patches — security scares can dent consumer confidence and spur short-term churn or support costs. DarkSword iPhone exploit threatens wallets
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment and positioning: Some AI-driven price models are bearish for Q2 and there’s visible insider selling and mixed analyst positioning — these contribute to short-term selling pressure. AI sets Apple stock price for Q2 2026

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $247.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $260.99 and its 200-day moving average is $262.20. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. CLSA lifted their price objective on Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.58.

About Apple

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.