Welch & Forbes LLC Has $438.55 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,722,290 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 13,277 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 5.3% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $438,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,415,932,804 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $290,506,933,000 after purchasing an additional 15,141,995 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $123,358,461,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224,229 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $72,506,336,000 after buying an additional 4,942,638 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $264.18 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $264.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 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 business had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. KGI Securities raised shares of Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $293.41.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is staging a “product week” with multiple announcements expected (AI-enabled wearables, low‑cost MacBook, new iPads, possible foldable iPhone and entry iPhone 17E). New hardware and AI features could drive device upgrades, services usage and longer‑term revenue upside. Apple Plans Week of Product Announcements
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlight Apple accelerating AI wearables (smart glasses, camera AirPods, AI pendant). Successful launches would broaden addressable market and reinforce Apple’s services/recurring revenue mix. Apple’s AI Wearables And Product Week Could Reshape Long Term Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The WSJ piece on Apple bringing more chip production in‑house (a “chip homecoming”) underscores Apple’s push for greater silicon control and supply resilience — a potential margin and product-differentiation tailwind. Apple’s Chip Homecoming
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and price targets remain mixed but generally positive: recent analyst moves (e.g., some target upgrades) and QuiverQuant discussion emphasize AI positioning and a median 6‑month target above current levels — supportive but not unanimous. Apple Stock Opinions on Low-Cost MacBook and AI Developments
• Neutral Sentiment: Anthropic’s Claude climbing Apple App Store charts highlights increased AI app demand on iOS — good for App Store traffic and potential services revenue, but indirect and short‑term. Anthropic’s Claude Tops Apple App Store Charts
• Negative Sentiment: Major institutional selling surfaced in 13F filings: Berkshire/Holdings moves show large reductions (reports say ~75% reduction from a major holder), and UBS AM disclosed removing a very large Apple position — headline selling from big holders can pressure near‑term price and investor sentiment. Warren Buffett Went Out With a Bang by Selling 75% of His Apple Stake
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider selling activity (multiple senior execs with recent sales) and heavy institutional rebalancing are being flagged by traders as a reason for caution even as fundamentals remain strong. Insider & Institutional Activity

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.