Eastern Bank Sells 22,696 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Eastern Bank cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,081,376 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 22,696 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.9% of Eastern Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $275,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. increased its stake in Apple by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 4.6% in the second quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,920 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Apple by 2.4% in the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the second quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $101,301,000 after buying an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.70.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple preparing to allow third‑party voice AI/chatbots (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) in CarPlay — a strategic shift that could boost in‑car services, user engagement and partnerships across the AI ecosystem. Apple plans to allow external voice-controlled AI chatbots in CarPlay
• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q1 results (higher‑than‑expected revenue and EPS, large iPhone sales) continue to support investor confidence and explain why AAPL is outperforming many Big Tech peers after the AI‑led sell‑off.
• Positive Sentiment: EU says Apple Ads and Apple Maps should not be designated under the Digital Markets Act — avoids potential regulatory constraints and commercial disruption in Europe. Apple Ads and Apple Maps should not be designated under Digital Markets Act, says EU
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and bullish price targets remain — several firms have reiterated Outperform/Overweight calls and above‑consensus targets (median recent target ~$310), underpinning investor interest. Evercore ISI stays Outperform on Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Inclusion in new Big Tech ETF offerings and continued institutional buying signal durable demand from funds and passive vehicles. Big Tech Core: New Burney ETF Packs Apple, Nvidia, Google, Broadcom Punch
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data currently shows anomalies (reporting zeros/NaN) and offers no clear signal on bearish positioning — not market‑moving as reported.
• Neutral Sentiment: Global memory‑chip shortages raise questions about iPhone pricing vs. margin trade‑offs; could preserve margins (price increases) or dent volume if Apple raises prices — impact unclear near term. Pricier iPhones? Global memory chip crunch puts spotlight on Apple
• Negative Sentiment: Apple has scaled back its AI health‑coach initiative (project “Mulberry”), highlighting execution and monetization challenges for new paid services tied to health/wearables. That could temper parts‑of‑services growth expectations. Apple Scales Back AI Health Coach Plans
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing insider selling is visible in regulatory filings; while routine at large cap firms, it can be interpreted negatively by some investors when concentrated.

Apple Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $278.12 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $268.05 and a 200-day moving average of $253.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 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.