Rakuten Securities Inc. Cuts Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Rakuten Securities Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,944 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,676 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $239.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $276.47 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, CLSA lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.70.

Apple Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $278.12 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $288.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $268.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 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.