Guardian Financial Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,465 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,089 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.5% of Guardian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Guardian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
More Apple News
Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Apple joined Anthropic, Microsoft, Amazon and Nvidia in Project Glasswing, a security-focused AI collaboration—this underscores Apple’s participation in enterprise-grade AI/security initiatives and supports its strategy of privacy-integrated AI features. Anthropic Teams With Apple, Microsoft And Nvidia To Test Latest Cybersecurity Tech
- Positive Sentiment: Supply-chain evidence of an AI/hardware cycle is benefiting Apple’s ecosystem: Foxconn’s strong revenue tied to AI demand and reports of elevated Mac Mini orders for on-device AI support point to durable hardware demand beyond any single product. Foxconn Revenue Surges 30% Thanks To AI Boom
- Positive Sentiment: Apple’s MacBook Neo and continued strength in iPhone 17/Mac Mini sales provide alternative growth levers (ecosystem expansion, cheaper device top-of-funnel and high‑margin services), which help cushion the stock against hardware-specific setbacks. Apple’s stock could surge 20%, and the MacBook Neo could be a key catalyst
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street checks (KeyBanc, Evercore/others) note improving demand signals heading into earnings, which supports the view that near-term headline risk may be temporary versus structural revenue weakness. Is Apple Stock (AAPL) a Buy Ahead of Earnings as Demand Picks Up? KeyBanc Weighs In
- Neutral Sentiment: Bloomberg/TechCrunch reported the foldable iPhone is still targeted for a September launch—this counter-report helped intraday recovery and highlights mixed sourcing; investors must weigh Nikkei’s earlier claims vs. Bloomberg’s. Apple’s foldable iPhone is on track to launch in September, report says
- Neutral Sentiment: Apple filed to seek Supreme Court review in its long-running App Store dispute with Epic—potentially a material legal outcome over time, but an uncertain and prolonged process. Apple plans Supreme Court appeal in Epic Games App Store battle — again
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple outlets (Nikkei, Reuters, Nikkei-sourced stories) reported engineering snags in the foldable iPhone’s testing—hinge and screen durability issues that could push shipments back months. That narrative is the primary near-term reason shares are lower as it threatens a major hardware catalyst. Apple’s foldable iPhone encounters engineering snags, faces potential shipment delays
- Negative Sentiment: China’s Supreme People’s Court upheld key AI patents for Xiao‑I in a dispute with Apple—this raises regulatory and IP risk in a critical market and has already moved investor attention to potential costs or feature limitations in China. Xiao-I (AIXI) Stock Explodes Over 500% Following Major Chinese Supreme Court Victory Against Apple
- Negative Sentiment: App Store growth has slowed (UBS flagged March quarter trends), and any sustained services cooling would pressure valuation since services underpin Apple’s margin resilience. Apple Holds Steady: UBS Keeps Neutral Rating as App Store Growth Slows to 7% in March Quarter
Apple Stock Performance
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced 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. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 presently 13.15%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. KGI Securities upgraded Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Maxim Group upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.23.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Apple
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.
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.
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