Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 319,880 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,241 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.6% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Apple were worth $81,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s long-term AI strategy shifted toward a major deal with Google’s Gemini to power the next-generation Siri and Apple Intelligence — a faster route to competitive AI features that could boost services engagement and stickiness. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Apple TV+ is showing momentum and is highlighted as a growing threat to Netflix, which supports the case for accelerating services revenue and margin diversification beyond hardware. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains a core holding inside mega-cap / AI-heavy ETFs that outperformed in 2025; that structural demand supports liquidity and index flows but isn’t a direct company-specific catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Proposed U.S. bill to expand veteran training in emerging tech names Apple among potential beneficiaries (more skilled talent in semiconductors/AI over time) — long-term, indirect. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: India issued a final warning that it will proceed with an antitrust case after delays in Apple’s responses — a move that raises regulatory and large‑fine risk in a key market. That adds tangible downside risk to investor sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cathie Wood’s ARK and other commentators argue Apple’s reliance on Google for core AI models signals strategic weakness — this critique is amplifying short‑term sell‑side debate about Apple’s independence on AI and could pressure the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage price spikes are creating headwinds for hardware makers; rising component costs could compress iPhone and Mac margins if Apple cannot fully pass them through. Read More.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $255.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average is $271.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.76. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.