Balefire LLC Sells 6,084 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Balefire LLC cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,862 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,084 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.4% of Balefire LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Balefire LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brucke Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 21,181 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,758,000 after buying an additional 1,620 shares during the period. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 44,912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,210,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,265,000. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,894,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its position in Apple by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 42,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,507,000 after purchasing an additional 3,386 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore reiterated an Outperform and kept a $330 price target, citing strong momentum in Apple’s services monetization that could accelerate revenue growth. Apple Inc. (AAPL) Focused on Service Monetization to Accelerate Revenue Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reiterated Outperform with a $350 target and flagged WWDC / a possible foldable iPhone as a near-term catalyst that could re‑ignite device momentum. Wedbush Reiterates Outperform on Apple Inc. (AAPL) Amid Anticipation of Foldable iPhone
• Positive Sentiment: Large hedge-fund interest: D. E. Shaw holds a multibillion-dollar stake (listed among its top picks), signaling institutional confidence. D. E. Shaw Stock Portfolio: Top 5 Stocks to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett publicly said he “sold Apple too soon” and would consider buying more at the right price — a credibility boost for long-term investors. Warren Buffett says he sold Apple too soon and would buy more of it, though not in this market
• Positive Sentiment: Product/AI upgrade: Reuters/Bloomberg reports Apple is testing a Siri feature that can handle multiple commands in one prompt — a visible AI catch-up move investors like. Apple tests Siri feature that handles multiple commands at once, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals: reports say iPhone demand remains resilient in China, helping offset weakness at some Android rivals and supporting device revenue outlooks. iPhone Demand Holds Strong in China Despite Market Slump
• Neutral Sentiment: Services integrations continue (Bandsintown added concert listings to Apple Music with iOS 26.4), which is constructive for engagement but a slow revenue play. BANDSINTOWN POWERS CONCERT LISTINGS ON APPLE MUSIC WITH THE RELEASE OF IOS 26.4
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts flag a recent pullback/valuation reset and tariff concerns — a reminder upside may depend on execution (services + new devices) rather than easy valuation re-rating. Assessing Apple (AAPL) Valuation After Recent Share Price Pullback And Tariff Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple has stepped up App Store enforcement against “vibe‑coding” AI apps; critics say this risks alienating developers and slows AI ecosystem momentum. Apple Cracks Down on Vibe Coding Services in App Store
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory & geopolitical noise: a UK fine for sanctions breaches at a European unit and inclusion on an Iran “retaliation” list highlight legal/security risks that can pressure shares. Apple subsidiary fined for breaching Russian sanctions Palantir, Tesla, Apple Top Iran Retaliation List

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $253.79 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $260.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.08, a PEG ratio of 2.34 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. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (down from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.