Ameriflex Group Inc. Has $19.55 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 94.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,787 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,265 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 7.3% of Ameriflex Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Ameriflex Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 148,598 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $37,837,000 after purchasing an additional 8,762 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 230,010 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $58,568,000 after buying an additional 3,134 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,107 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,574,000 after buying an additional 2,347 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,234,034 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,078,112,000 after buying an additional 16,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the third quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 127,693 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $32,514,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MacBook Neo launch — Apple unveiled the $599 MacBook Neo aimed at education and budget buyers; reviewers (including MKBHD) praise it as highly disruptive, which could expand unit volumes and market share. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect meaningful initial units — Some research notes forecast 4–5 million MacBook Neo shipments this year, suggesting upside to Mac revenue if adoption meets expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: India manufacturing incentives — New Indian incentives to boost local phone production support Apple’s ongoing shift of iPhone assembly to India, reducing China concentration risk and potentially lowering tariff exposure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Buyback and cash flow support — Coverage highlights a large share‑repurchase (reported $24B) and strong free cash flow that help support the stock through market volatility, but these are longer‑term cushions rather than immediate catalysts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data appears noisy — Reports show a large “increase” in short interest but the underlying data is zero/NaN, indicating a likely reporting glitch rather than a substantive change in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: China shipment weakness — UBS reiterated a Hold citing sharp declines in iPhone shipments in China, a direct hit to growth expectations for Apple’s largest hardware category. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Supplier cost pressure — Samsung Display’s CEO warned that higher oil and chip prices (and related supply‑cost inflation) could increase component costs for phones and laptops, pressuring margins industrywide. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and “no catalyst” views — Coverage notes AAPL trades at a premium P/E versus peers and some analysts say there’s no near‑term catalyst to justify further multiple expansion, leaving the stock vulnerable to broader market weakness. Article Title

Apple Stock Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $255.76 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $288.62. The company has a market cap of $3.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $262.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.14.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. CLSA boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.