Cortland Associates Inc. MO Cuts Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Cortland Associates Inc. MO cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,497 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,150 shares during the period. Apple makes up 0.8% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth about $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarter driven by iPhone 17 and China — Apple beat revenue and EPS expectations, reported record iPhone sales and gave strong March-quarter revenue/margin guidance, supporting bullish near-term fundamentals. Apple sales, profit beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target increases — Several firms raised targets and reiterated buy ratings after the beat (including TD Cowen, JPMorgan, Monness Crespi & Hardt), which supports upside sentiment among institutional investors. Analyst notes
• Neutral Sentiment: AI strategy remains ambiguous — Apple announced partnerships (e.g., Google Gemini) and made AI-related M&A (Q.ai), but offered limited execution details; these moves signal intent but leave monetization and competitive positioning unclear. AI details unclear
• Neutral Sentiment: Potential supply-chain diversification — Reports that Apple is exploring U.S. foundry partners (e.g., Intel) could ease long-term sourcing risk but are early-stage and not an immediate fix for 2026 capacity issues. Intel foundry reports
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory-chip costs and shortages — Apple warned memory prices are beginning to bite; suppliers like Samsung and SK Hynix are prioritizing AI chips, tightening supply and pressuring gross margins if costs stay elevated. Memory cost warning
• Negative Sentiment: iPhone production constraints — Multiple reports say TSMC/other chip shortages are limiting Apple’s ability to meet iPhone demand, forcing Apple to prioritize premium models and potentially capping unit growth despite strong demand. TSMC supply short
• Negative Sentiment: Talent and execution questions in AI — Reports of AI researcher departures and commentary that the Google partnership could limit Apple’s AI upside have soured investor enthusiasm for Apple’s AI prospects. AI researcher departures

Apple Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $259.48 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $268.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.42. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 171.22% and a net margin of 27.04%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $276.47 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Maxim Group upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.23.

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.