Vicus Capital Grows Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Vicus Capital increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,542 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.1% of Vicus Capital’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its position in Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals and analyst support — Wall Street analysts are reiterating buys and raising price targets after Apple’s strong quarter and iPhone 17 demand, which underpins revenue and margin upside. Apple Inc.: Reaffirmed Buy on Strengthening Services Ecosystem and Broad-Based App Store Recovery
• Positive Sentiment: AI/tooling integration that can boost developer ecosystem — Apple added agentic coding support (Anthropic’s Claude Agent and OpenAI’s Codex) to Xcode, which could accelerate app development and stickiness in the App Store over time. Apple adds agents from Anthropic and OpenAI to its coding tool
• Positive Sentiment: Sentiment drivers and media endorsements — high-profile bullish commentary (e.g., Jim Cramer) and inflows into innovation ETFs that include Apple support near‑term momentum and investor confidence. Jim Cramer Says “I Think Apple’s Quarter Was Fantastic and Its Future Remains Bright”
• Neutral Sentiment: Content/brand initiatives — Apple TV+ will debut Mattel’s “Matchbox The Movie” in October; small for near‑term revenues but supports services/brand extension. Apple TV sets October launch for Mattel’s ‘Matchbox’ car movie
• Neutral Sentiment: Market chatter and unusual data points — several feeds report odd/zero short‑interest figures for February (likely data noise) and high search/activity around AAPL; useful for gauging retail attention but not a direct fundamental catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: AI talent drain — reports Apple has lost several AI researchers to Meta and Google, which raises execution risk for long‑term AI initiatives versus better-funded rivals. Apple Loses More AI Researchers to Meta and Google
• Negative Sentiment: Supply competition from AI chip demand — TSMC capacity is being stretched by Nvidia’s AI ramp, which could pressure Apple’s manufacturing cadence or component availability if capacity constraints persist. Nvidia’s AI Takeover Leaves Apple Fighting for Supply

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $269.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $268.11 and its 200 day moving average is $252.84.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.70.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.