Empirical Asset Management LLC Has $23.85 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,681 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,270 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.6% of Empirical Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,415,932,804 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $290,506,933,000 after acquiring an additional 15,141,995 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $123,358,461,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224,229 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $72,506,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942,638 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased 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 during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $260.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.97, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The company’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued 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%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: India manufacturing surge lowers China concentration and tariff risk — Apple now makes roughly 25% of iPhones after a ~53% increase in India production last year, reducing geopolitical/tariff exposure and supporting margin resilience. Apple now makes one in four iPhones in India: report
• Positive Sentiment: Move into lower‑priced devices could grow ecosystem and unit volumes — coverage highlights Apple’s new budget‑friendly iPhone 17e and a $599 MacBook Neo as deliberate steps to expand market share while protecting services revenue. Apple’s Newest Phone and Laptop Are More Budget-Friendly. Premium Products Could Be Next
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains — Citi reiterated a Buy and $315 target, citing resilient margins, expanding services and emerging AI upside, which underpins upside narratives despite cost pressures. Apple: Resilient Margins, Expanding Services, and Emerging AI Upside Support Buy Rating and $315 Target
• Neutral Sentiment: PC market dynamics could be a relative winner for Apple — analysis suggests industry weakness (memory cost shock) may hurt rivals more than Apple, potentially supporting Mac share gains. The PC Collapse Has a Winner — and It’s Not Who You Think
• Neutral Sentiment: Supplier shifts and competitor headlines — Bank of America warns Qualcomm faces loss of Apple business; this is more a negative for Qualcomm but signals Apple’s growing in‑house or alternate sourcing strategies. Qualcomm faces loss of Apple business, competitive pressures, says Bank of America
• Negative Sentiment: Siri/AI issues delaying smart‑home hardware — Reported Siri troubles have pushed back a smart home display launch, signaling execution and AI software risks for new product lines. Apple’s Siri Troubles Put Smart Home Display On Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory friction in Europe — German publishers say Apple’s revised app tracking rules don’t fix antitrust concerns and urge fines, adding potential regulatory/legal risk to its services/advertising ecosystem. German publishers reject Apple’s revised app tracking rules, urge antitrust fine
• Negative Sentiment: Memory cost headwinds — Coverage flags rising DRAM prices as a near‑term margin pressure (a possible ~140bps headwind), which could temper profit expansion even as revenue grows. Apple Stock — Why Analysts Still Like It Despite A Memory Squeeze

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $239.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.58.

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.