Affinity Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 43.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 224,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,245 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 8.5% of Affinity Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $61,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.58.
Apple Stock Down 1.6%
Shares of AAPL opened at $248.80 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $260.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.67. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. 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 market cap of $3.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.15%.
Key Stories Impacting Apple
Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Wedbush says 2026 could be a significant product year and raises upside potential (they reiterate Outperform and a $350 target), framing WWDC and AI-driven hardware as major catalysts. Apple in focus as Wedbush calls 2026 a ‘significant’ product launch year ahead of WWDC
- Positive Sentiment: Apple hired ex-Google executive Lilian Rincon as VP of product marketing for AI — a concrete senior hire to accelerate Siri/AI positioning and marketing. Apple hires ex-Google executive to head AI marketing amid push to improve Siri
- Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple will open Siri to rival AI assistants (Gemini, Claude, etc.) in iOS 27 — this pivot can broaden iPhone AI capabilities without Apple building everything in‑house. Apple Plans to Open Up Siri to Rival AI Assistants in iOS 27 Update
- Positive Sentiment: Services continue to grow (reported ~14% y/y, Apple TV and gaming aiding strength) — recurring high‑margin revenue supports earnings upside even if hardware cycles lag. Strong Streaming & Game Content Aids Apple’s Services: What’s Ahead?
- Positive Sentiment: Apple expands U.S. manufacturing program, adding Bosch, Cirrus Logic, TDK and Qnity and committing $400M — reduces supply‑chain risk and supports domestic sourcing narrative. Apple adds Bosch, Cirrus Logic, others to US manufacturing program, to invest $400 million
- Positive Sentiment: Apple is granting rare large stock bonuses to iPhone designers to curb talent departures to AI firms — a retention step to protect future product execution. Apple Drops Six Figure Bonuses To Stop iPhone Talent Exodus
- Neutral Sentiment: An analyst tweak: Erste trimmed FY2027 EPS slightly — minimal change to consensus, but worth watching for estimate revisions. Apple Inc. analyst note (Erste Group) via MarketBeat
- Neutral Sentiment: Steve Wozniak publicly criticizes AI and says he hardly uses it — a reputational/PR datapoint but unlikely to move fundamentals. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak admits he’s ‘disappointed a lot’ by AI and hardly uses it
- Negative Sentiment: Broader tech sector weakness — Nasdaq slide, Meta legal losses and geopolitical worries are pressuring tech stocks, which is dragging AAPL despite company‑specific positives. Tech stocks suffer worst week in nearly a year, driven down by war worries, Meta legal woes
- Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and abandoned future updates could concern pro users and niche revenue, though impact on total revenue is limited. Apple reportedly discontinues Mac Pro, abandons plans for future updates
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.
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