Stephens Consulting LLC Raises Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jan 4th, 2026

Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 18.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,227 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.1% of Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,415,932,804 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $290,506,933,000 after acquiring an additional 15,141,995 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Apple by 0.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,224,229 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,942,638 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 205,656,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $38,942,255,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $271.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $273.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $244.63. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $288.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The company 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%.The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Positive Sentiment: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly naming Apple as a long‑term rival in AI underscores investor interest in Apple’s AI roadmap and ecosystem positioning — a potential tailwind for Services and device differentiation. Why Sam Altman Sees Apple (AAPL) as the Real Rival to ChatGPT
Positive Sentiment: Rumors that the AirPods Pro 3 could gain infrared cameras suggest faster hardware refreshes and new features for wearables — a boost to Apple’s product-cycle narrative and Services monetization potential. Apple’s (AAPL) AirPods Pro 3 May Soon Get Infrared Cameras
Positive Sentiment: Earnings previews point to continued margin expansion and a projected high‑single‑digit rise in profitability for the upcoming quarter — supportive of near‑term earnings expectations. Apple Earnings Preview: What to Expect
Neutral Sentiment: Corporate governance update — Apple appointed Ben Borders as Principal Accounting Officer. Routine leadership changes can slightly reassure on controls but are unlikely to move valuation materially. Apple appoints Ben Borders as principal accounting officer
Neutral Sentiment: General market commentary and search interest pieces (e.g., Benzinga lists) show continued retail attention on AAPL but don’t imply immediate fundamental change. EXCLUSIVE: December’s 12 Most-Searched Tickers On Benzinga Pro – Where Do Tesla, Micron, Apple Stock Rank
Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple has cut Vision Pro production and pulled back marketing after weaker‑than‑expected demand. That reduces near‑term hardware revenue upside and raises questions on the timing of returns from spatial‑computing investments. Apple cuts Vision Pro production and marketing after weak sales
Negative Sentiment: Raymond James resumed coverage but moved to a market‑perform (neutral) rating, explicitly flagging limited upside given current valuation — a sentiment that can temper momentum and institutional buying. Raymond James resumes Apple coverage, flags limited upside at current valuation
Negative Sentiment: Opinion pieces and a multi‑factor analysis (Forbes and others) suggesting reduced exposure highlight valuation risk — investors may trim positions if they believe upside is capped relative to premium multiples. Is It Time To Reduce Exposure To Apple Stock?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Melius upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

Read Our Latest Report on Apple

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Apple

(Free Report)

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.