Apple Inc. $AAPL is Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s 5th Largest Position

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 286,657 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 4,359 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.1% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $72,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Baker Boyer National Bank grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 1.8% during the second quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. SigFig Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. SigFig Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Shariaportfolio Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. now owns 3,999 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $270.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $270.62 and a 200 day moving average of $240.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stores Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullishness: multiple firms raised targets and highlighted upside tied to AI initiatives and iPhone strength — Morgan Stanley raised its target and analysts (including Wedbush) see material upside into 2026. Morgan Stanley Lifts Apple Inc. (AAPL) Price Target on Earnings Growth Expectations Apple (AAPL) Stock: Wall Street Analysts See Major Upside as AI Plans Unfold
• Positive Sentiment: iPhone demand momentum: Jefferies raised its target after stronger-than-expected iPhone sales/seasonality, supporting near-term revenue and Services leverage. Apple (AAPL) Target Raised as Jefferies Sees Stronger iPhone Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Product / AI runway: reports say Apple is targeting 2026 launches for AI smart glasses and camera-equipped AirPods — potential new hardware + AI services revenue streams. Apple Targets 2026 Launch For AI Smart Glasses, Camera-Equipped AirPods
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor flows & positioning: commentary anticipates year‑end rotation and a potential Q1 shift out of overbought mega‑cap tech into cyclical names, which could pressure AAPL temporarily even if fundamentals remain solid. Tech Rotation to Follow Santa Claus Rally, AAPL 2026 “Favorite”
• Neutral Sentiment: Berkshire chatter: pieces predicting Berkshire may stop selling AAPL in 2026 are supportive of long-term holder confidence but are speculative and may have limited immediate flow impact. Prediction: Berkshire Hathaway Will Stop Selling Apple Stock in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory hit in Europe: Italy’s antitrust authority fined Apple ~€98.6M for alleged App Store abuse tied to a privacy feature — a small direct cost but a reminder of regulatory risk and potential for follow‑on actions. Italy’s antitrust fines Apple for alleged abuse of dominant position with App Store
• Negative Sentiment: Input‑cost and margin pressure risk: commentators warn rising memory prices (Micron) could squeeze iPhone component costs and margins if not offset by pricing or mix. Jim Cramer Says “Apple Might Be Hurt By Higher Memory Prices From Micron”

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Argus set a $325.00 price target on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

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.