Apple Inc. $AAPL is Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,392 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,021 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.3% of Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $34,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CPA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. CPA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 17,979 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,888,000 after buying an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management grew its position in Apple by 98.4% during the fourth quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 60,723 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,981,000 after acquiring an additional 30,122 shares during the last quarter. NatWest Group plc raised its stake in shares of Apple by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 133,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,267,000 after acquiring an additional 31,687 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 170,783 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $46,429,000 after acquiring an additional 44,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Pan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC now owns 16,315 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,435,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Top investor endorsement — Billionaire Ken Griffin lists Apple among his five best stock picks, highlighting institutional conviction and potential buying support. 5 Best Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Ken Griffin
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing — Bank of America reiterates a Buy and cites accelerating services growth and on‑device AI upside, supporting a premium valuation thesis and positive analyst flow. Apple: Accelerating Services Growth and On‑Device AI Upside Support Premium Valuation and Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. manufacturing boost — Apple expands its U.S. manufacturing program with a reported $400M investment, a politically favorable move that can reduce supply risk and support margin/PR. Apple Inc. (AAPL) expands US manufacturing program with $400M investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive narrative around Apple at 50 — Extensive coverage of Apple’s 50th anniversary reminds investors of the company’s long-term durability, but raises governance/succession questions that are medium‑term rather than catalytic. Apple At 50 Weighs AI Partnerships Satellite Ties And Succession
• Neutral Sentiment: AI positioning debate — Coverage highlights a strategic pivot toward opening Siri to third‑party AI assistants and other AI moves; this reduces long-term AI execution risk but timing and monetization remain uncertain. Apple’s AI Strategy Is Pivoting. Here’s Why That Could Be Great News for the Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Satellite dependency risk — Reports that Amazon is in talks to buy Globalstar (Apple’s satellite partner for Emergency SOS/messaging) raise competitive and supply‑chain uncertainty for Apple’s satellite features. Amazon Lines Up Deal to Rival SpaceX’s Starlink: Report. Why Apple Could Be a Problem.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation pressure — Commentary points to a rich trailing and forward P/E (high 20s–30s) that’s prompting profit‑taking and making AAPL sensitive to any slowdown in growth or disappointment on AI execution. Is Apple Stock Overvalued Or Undervalued?
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical / macro risk — Headlines about potential targeting of U.S. tech firms and broader Mag‑7 weakness amplify downside risk if tensions or macro selloffs persist. AAPL Stock on Watch: Iran Threatens Retaliatory Strikes Could Hit Apple Next

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $255.92 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $260.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Moffett Nathanson increased their target price on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities 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, Apple presently has an average 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.