V. M. Manning & CO. Inc. Invests $12.17 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

V. M. Manning & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 52,347 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $12,168,000. Apple makes up approximately 10.9% of V. M. Manning & CO. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $39,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 205,656,808 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at about $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Apple by 98,917.0% in the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,106,000 after purchasing an additional 57,898,088 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 8th. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reaffirmed a Buy on AAPL and keeps a $325 price target, citing resilient Services growth, edge-AI optionality and strong capital returns that support a premium multiple. TipRanks: Buy Rating Reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: Foxconn reported record Q4 revenue (driven by AI server demand); analysts view the beat as a constructive read-through for iPhone demand and supply-chain health for Apple. Benzinga: Foxconn Q4 Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms maintain Buy ratings and high price targets (median ~ $305), providing upside support versus current levels and underpinning long-term conviction. QuiverQuant: Analyst Ratings & Targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple appears on long-term dividend/quality stock lists and investor round-ups, signaling continued buy-and-hold interest even amid near-term noise. Fool: Dividend Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Social and search buzz around recent iPhone launches (iPhone 17) is high — useful for sentiment but mixed on near-term monetization. QuiverQuant: iPhone 17 Buzz
• Negative Sentiment: Raymond James resumed coverage with a downgrade/Market Perform, citing valuation concerns and limited upside — a primary catalyst for selling pressure today. MSN/Broadcast: Raymond James Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Apple has scaled back Vision Pro production after weak demand; coverage pieces flag poor early adoption, which pressures the narrative around Apple’s new-hardware growth. Benzinga: Vision Pro Production Plans
• Negative Sentiment: Broader valuation debate and mixed signal on AI rollout/returns — recent write-ups highlight stretched multiples and delayed Apple Intelligence execution as reasons investors may trim exposure. Yahoo Finance: Valuation Assessment
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive/AI pressure stories (e.g., Samsung AI push) and visible insider selling noted in data feeds add to near-term risk perceptions among momentum and institutional traders. 24/7 Wall St.: Samsung Competition

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $267.26 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $273.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.47.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.92%.

Apple 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.