Westend Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4,004.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 76,159 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.8% of Westend Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Westend Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the second 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 during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $259.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $272.84 and its 200 day moving average is $246.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $4,095,030.54. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 2nd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.07.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Late‑season strength in iPhone 17 demand suggests the handset cycle could keep Services and upgrade momentum intact — a near‑term revenue tailwind for AAPL. iPhone 17 Demand Lifts AAPL
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase will become the new issuer of the Apple Card, expanding Apple’s financial‑services ecosystem and potentially boosting Services engagement (though direct financial upside for Apple is likely modest). JPMorgan Chase becomes the new issuer of the Apple Card
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street commentators remain constructive — analysts raising targets and pundits like Jim Cramer arguing Apple deserves a premium multiple on its combination of iPhone strength and AI roadmap. That supports buy‑the‑dip narrative. Analyst lifts Apple stock target to $330
• Neutral Sentiment: Technicals and short‑term positioning: commentators point to an oversold setup and support levels that may produce a rebound, but that depends on catalysts (earnings cadence, AI product news). Stock Of The Day: Is Apple About To Bounce?
• Neutral Sentiment: Evercore and other research houses note overlooked strengths (services, iPhone demand) versus valuation worries — implies mixed near‑term outlook but continued conviction among some buy‑side firms. Apple’s stock falls for the eighth straight day
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory / app‑store risk: three Democratic senators urged Apple and Google to remove X and Grok after reports the AI tools enabled creation/sharing of sexualized images of minors — this raises content‑moderation and legal risk scrutiny tied to app‑store governance. Grok and X should be suspended from Apple, Google app stores
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and AI concerns: chatter about Apple lagging peers in AI, analyst downgrades and Alphabet surpassing Apple in market cap are pressuring sentiment and valuation multiples. Can Apple Enjoy a “Siri Surge” as Apple Catches Up in AI?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and some institutional portfolio rotations have been noted in recent filings, which can weigh on near‑term sentiment even if not indicative of fundamental deterioration. QuiverQuant Apple AI strategy and downgrades

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.