Appleton Partners Inc. MA Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 341,715 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,359 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 6.1% of Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Apple were worth $92,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Carderock Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,335 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,956,000 after buying an additional 5,805 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 122.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,588,384 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,422,278,000 after acquiring an additional 6,931,227 shares during the period. Cambridge Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Financial Group LLC now owns 21,217 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,482,000 after acquiring an additional 5,166 shares during the period. GEM Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. GEM Asset Management LLC now owns 20,974 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,460,000 after acquiring an additional 5,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 679,439 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $184,713,000 after acquiring an additional 20,508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $248.80 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $288.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $260.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.58.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush says 2026 could be a significant product year and raises upside potential (they reiterate Outperform and a $350 target), framing WWDC and AI-driven hardware as major catalysts. Apple in focus as Wedbush calls 2026 a ‘significant’ product launch year ahead of WWDC
• Positive Sentiment: Apple hired ex-Google executive Lilian Rincon as VP of product marketing for AI — a concrete senior hire to accelerate Siri/AI positioning and marketing. Apple hires ex-Google executive to head AI marketing amid push to improve Siri
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple will open Siri to rival AI assistants (Gemini, Claude, etc.) in iOS 27 — this pivot can broaden iPhone AI capabilities without Apple building everything in‑house. Apple Plans to Open Up Siri to Rival AI Assistants in iOS 27 Update
• Positive Sentiment: Services continue to grow (reported ~14% y/y, Apple TV and gaming aiding strength) — recurring high‑margin revenue supports earnings upside even if hardware cycles lag. Strong Streaming & Game Content Aids Apple’s Services: What’s Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple expands U.S. manufacturing program, adding Bosch, Cirrus Logic, TDK and Qnity and committing $400M — reduces supply‑chain risk and supports domestic sourcing narrative. Apple adds Bosch, Cirrus Logic, others to US manufacturing program, to invest $400 million
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is granting rare large stock bonuses to iPhone designers to curb talent departures to AI firms — a retention step to protect future product execution. Apple Drops Six Figure Bonuses To Stop iPhone Talent Exodus
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst tweak: Erste trimmed FY2027 EPS slightly — minimal change to consensus, but worth watching for estimate revisions. Apple Inc. analyst note (Erste Group) via MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Steve Wozniak publicly criticizes AI and says he hardly uses it — a reputational/PR datapoint but unlikely to move fundamentals. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak admits he’s ‘disappointed a lot’ by AI and hardly uses it
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech sector weakness — Nasdaq slide, Meta legal losses and geopolitical worries are pressuring tech stocks, which is dragging AAPL despite company‑specific positives. Tech stocks suffer worst week in nearly a year, driven down by war worries, Meta legal woes
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and abandoned future updates could concern pro users and niche revenue, though impact on total revenue is limited. Apple reportedly discontinues Mac Pro, abandons plans for future updates

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.