World Equity Group Inc. Increases Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

World Equity Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 31.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,933 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 26,422 shares during the period. Apple makes up 6.4% of World Equity Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $27,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its position in Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarter driven by iPhone 17 and China — Apple beat revenue and EPS expectations, reported record iPhone sales and gave strong March-quarter revenue/margin guidance, supporting bullish near-term fundamentals. Apple sales, profit beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target increases — Several firms raised targets and reiterated buy ratings after the beat (including TD Cowen, JPMorgan, Monness Crespi & Hardt), which supports upside sentiment among institutional investors. Analyst notes
• Neutral Sentiment: AI strategy remains ambiguous — Apple announced partnerships (e.g., Google Gemini) and made AI-related M&A (Q.ai), but offered limited execution details; these moves signal intent but leave monetization and competitive positioning unclear. AI details unclear
• Neutral Sentiment: Potential supply-chain diversification — Reports that Apple is exploring U.S. foundry partners (e.g., Intel) could ease long-term sourcing risk but are early-stage and not an immediate fix for 2026 capacity issues. Intel foundry reports
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory-chip costs and shortages — Apple warned memory prices are beginning to bite; suppliers like Samsung and SK Hynix are prioritizing AI chips, tightening supply and pressuring gross margins if costs stay elevated. Memory cost warning
• Negative Sentiment: iPhone production constraints — Multiple reports say TSMC/other chip shortages are limiting Apple’s ability to meet iPhone demand, forcing Apple to prioritize premium models and potentially capping unit growth despite strong demand. TSMC supply short
• Negative Sentiment: Talent and execution questions in AI — Reports of AI researcher departures and commentary that the Google partnership could limit Apple’s AI upside have soured investor enthusiasm for Apple’s AI prospects. AI researcher departures

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $289.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $259.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $268.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.72. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 171.22%. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.92%.

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.