Associated Banc Corp Has $151.18 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Associated Banc Corp cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 593,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 12,933 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.0% of Associated Banc Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $151,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 98,917.0% in the 2nd quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,106,000 after purchasing an additional 57,898,088 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target (down from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Maxim Group upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.23.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $259.48 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $252.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

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.