Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Holdings Lifted by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 322,329 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 48,671 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.1% of Vest Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $82,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake 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 grew its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 41.0% in the second 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 during the period. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at about $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is rolling out an integrated video‑podcast experience this spring, a direct push into formats dominated by YouTube, Spotify and Netflix that could expand engagement and ad/subscription opportunities for Apple Podcasts. Apple takes on YouTube and Spotify with new video podcasting push
• Positive Sentiment: Apple confirmed a March 4 product event, which typically supports revenue visibility (new devices/accessories) and investor optimism around hardware refreshes. Apple Preps for March 4 Product Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Partner news: Acast will be among the first to distribute video podcasts via Apple Podcasts (HLS), helping accelerate content supply and potential monetization. Acast to Power Video Podcast Distribution on Apple Podcasts via HLS
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts still see upside: consensus targets remain well above current levels, framing the recent pullback as a potential buying opportunity if fundamentals hold. Apple (AAPL) Trading 10% Below Analyst Targets After This Week’s 8% Drop
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider/position moves: reports of a Pelosi sale and mixed hedge‑fund positioning are circulating; these are notable for sentiment but not necessarily a change to fundamentals. Nancy Pelosi Sold Apple and Bought This 1 Stock Instead
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI delayed its first consumer device to 2027; that eases near‑term competitive hardware headline risk but keeps longer‑term AI device competition on the radar. OpenAI Delays First Consumer Device to 2027
• Negative Sentiment: Execution/AI concerns: reports about delays to Apple’s Siri AI upgrades have triggered investor worry about product roadmap execution and AI competitiveness — a key reason for recent selling pressure. Apple’s Siri shocker is flashing a warning AAPL bulls can’t ignore
• Negative Sentiment: Broader sector weakness: a choppy tech week and rotation (Oracle surge while some Magnificent Seven names fell) has pressured growth multiples, amplifying AAPL’s pullback amid macro/AI spending debates. Oracle Surges 12% While Apple, Amazon Tumble in Choppy Tech Week
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/market caution pieces (e.g., opinion that the 2026 rally is under threat) are amplifying fear that a sharper correction could occur, pressuring sentiment beyond near‑term fundamentals. Why Apple Stock’s 2026 Rally Is Under Threat

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $276.47 price target on Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.13.

Apple Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $255.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.09. 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 fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $256.48.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 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 firm had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.15%.

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.