Candriam S.C.A. Sells 14,058 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,402,027 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 14,058 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.5% of Candriam S.C.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Apple were worth $866,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Product blitz strengthens long-term revenue/AI thesis — Apple unveiled the low‑cost MacBook Neo ($599), iPhone 17e and AI-focused Macs, which analysts say could kickstart an AI-driven upgrade cycle and broaden Apple’s addressable market (students/price‑sensitive buyers). This supports bullish price targets and the idea of a hardware-led revenue catalyst. Apple debuts $599 MacBook Neo to challenge Chromebooks, Windows PCs
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst support — Wedbush and other brokers reiterated high targets (e.g., $350) and framed the new lineup as validation of Apple’s AI hardware strategy, giving investors confidence in multi‑quarter upside if an upgrade cycle materializes. Apple’s AI Hardware Blitz Could Send The Stock 33% Higher
• Positive Sentiment: Addressable‑market lift from low‑price models — Analysts (e.g., Gene Munster) argue the MacBook Neo and iPhone 17e could incrementally boost revenues and help Apple gain share in education/entry segments. Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo May Boost Revenue By 0.5%
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves — some firms nudged targets or maintained ratings (Rosenblatt raised to $268, Barclays updated targets), producing no clear consensus; investors must decide whether upgrades justify current valuation multiples. Benzinga (analyst updates)
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest/market data noise — published short‑interest figures in the feed are clearly faulty (zeros/NaN), so they’re not a reliable driver of today’s move.
• Negative Sentiment: Market‑wide volatility & geopolitical risk — broader tech weakness tied to Iran tensions and risk‑off flows is pressuring high‑beta mega caps, contributing to Apple’s pullback despite product news. Magnificent 7 Stock Report: Apple Leads, NVIDIA Fades, Microsoft Crashes
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns about low‑end push and technicals — some commentary frames the cheap‑product strategy as a sign of weaker demand or margin pressure, and technical analysts flagged bearish crossovers that could spur further selling if confirmed. Apple stock flashes ‘worst bearish cross’

Apple Trading Down 0.8%

AAPL opened at $260.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.07.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (down from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 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-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.58.

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.