Triangle Securities Wealth Management Purchases 5,700 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Triangle Securities Wealth Management boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,601 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.8% of Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised 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 worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 41.0% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% 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, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Melius raised their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $283.36 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.92.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

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?

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $271.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $273.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.63. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. 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 (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 company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

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.