Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 73,676 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 334,667 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 73,676 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 5.7% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $85,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 98,917.0% during the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,106,000 after purchasing an additional 57,898,088 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $239.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Maxim Group upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.70.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $278.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple preparing to allow third‑party voice AI/chatbots (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) in CarPlay — a strategic shift that could boost in‑car services, user engagement and partnerships across the AI ecosystem. Apple plans to allow external voice-controlled AI chatbots in CarPlay
• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q1 results (higher‑than‑expected revenue and EPS, large iPhone sales) continue to support investor confidence and explain why AAPL is outperforming many Big Tech peers after the AI‑led sell‑off.
• Positive Sentiment: EU says Apple Ads and Apple Maps should not be designated under the Digital Markets Act — avoids potential regulatory constraints and commercial disruption in Europe. Apple Ads and Apple Maps should not be designated under Digital Markets Act, says EU
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and bullish price targets remain — several firms have reiterated Outperform/Overweight calls and above‑consensus targets (median recent target ~$310), underpinning investor interest. Evercore ISI stays Outperform on Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Inclusion in new Big Tech ETF offerings and continued institutional buying signal durable demand from funds and passive vehicles. Big Tech Core: New Burney ETF Packs Apple, Nvidia, Google, Broadcom Punch
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data currently shows anomalies (reporting zeros/NaN) and offers no clear signal on bearish positioning — not market‑moving as reported.
• Neutral Sentiment: Global memory‑chip shortages raise questions about iPhone pricing vs. margin trade‑offs; could preserve margins (price increases) or dent volume if Apple raises prices — impact unclear near term. Pricier iPhones? Global memory chip crunch puts spotlight on Apple
• Negative Sentiment: Apple has scaled back its AI health‑coach initiative (project “Mulberry”), highlighting execution and monetization challenges for new paid services tied to health/wearables. That could temper parts‑of‑services growth expectations. Apple Scales Back AI Health Coach Plans
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing insider selling is visible in regulatory filings; while routine at large cap firms, it can be interpreted negatively by some investors when concentrated.

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.