Smith Salley Wealth Management Has $104.45 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 410,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.4% of Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $104,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. CLSA lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Argus set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.07.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple confirmed a multi‑year partnership to base its next generation of foundation models on Google’s Gemini, giving Apple a fast path to better AI in Siri while preserving capital — a clear product and services catalyst if rollout drives upgrades. Why Apple Chose Google to Power the Future of AI
• Positive Sentiment: Apple launched Apple Creator Studio, a new subscription bundle that expands paid services for creators — supporting higher recurring revenue and gross margins in Services, which investors view as a long‑term earnings driver. Apple rolls out Creator Studio to boost services push, adds AI features
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms reaffirm bullish views (Evercore, Wedbush, other analysts) citing an upcoming iPhone refresh, Siri/AI upgrades and services momentum as reasons Apple remains a top pick for 2026 — analyst support tends to underpin near‑term buying interest. This Analyst Still Thinks Apple Stock Is a Top Pick for 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan’s Q4 report included a one‑time charge tied to taking over the Apple Card partnership; the bank is building reserves and investing in payments/tech to support the card transition — this is operationally important but the direct, immediate impact on Apple’s revenue/profitability is limited and more medium‑term. JPMorgan profit falls on one-time Apple card deal charge
• Negative Sentiment: Critics and some commentators argue Apple is trailing peers in AI spending and execution, and some coverage highlights valuation premium — this narrative can cap sentiment until Apple demonstrates tangible AI product wins and revenue upside. Apple: Trapped Between Google and a Hard AI Phase

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $261.05 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $272.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $288.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.09.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

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

Apple Company 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.