ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Sells 20,770 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,073,148 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 20,770 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 6.4% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.’s holdings in Apple were worth $527,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 98,917.0% in the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,106,000 after acquiring an additional 57,898,088 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $273.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $288.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $267.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for 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%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period 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 Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. CLSA lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Argus set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.13.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target to $340 and kept an “outperform” rating — a sizable upside vs. the current stock level that supports bullish analyst momentum for AAPL.
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein’s Mark Newman says a strong iPhone 17 cycle is driving better‑than‑expected revenue and helped the firm hike its price target. Strong iPhone 17 cycle giving better than expected revenue, says Bernstein’s Mark Newman
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed surging revenue and free-cash-flow margins, prompting some analysts and options traders to lift targets and consider bullish option strategies — a direct fundamental tailwind for valuation.
• Positive Sentiment: Media and commentators note Apple’s conservative approach to AI capex (avoiding huge data‑center spending) as a profit-preserving advantage versus hyperscalers, reinforcing margin resilience. Jim Cramer on Apple (AAPL): “Doesn’t Hurt That They’ve Avoided Spending Hundreds of Billions of Dollars on Data Centers”
• Positive Sentiment: Supply-chain checks suggest a “solid outlook” for Apple components and inventory, which supports near‑term revenue visibility. Apple in focus as GF says supply chain survey suggests ‘solid outlook’
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple and Google agreed to app‑store changes to satisfy the UK regulator — this reduces regulatory overhang in that market but is incremental to global revenue. Apple and Google agree app store changes to appease UK regulator
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data for Feb. 10 appears to be erroneous (shows zero shares and NaN change) — not a meaningful signal for shares today.
• Neutral Sentiment: High‑profile investors (e.g., Peter Thiel’s fund) including Apple in a contrarian AI exposure list provides some institutional endorsement but is not a catalyst by itself. Thiel Bypasses Palantir and Nvidia for Meta, Tesla, Apple in Contrarian AI Play
• Negative Sentiment: Several pieces raise caution: some investors warn the Magnificent 7 (including AAPL) could underperform amid rising capex and rotation risks, which can pressure multiples. Why This Investor Thinks Magnificent 7 Stocks May Underperform This Year
• Negative Sentiment: Questions persist in the press about Apple’s AI positioning and whether it may be falling behind peers — any signs of execution gaps on AI could weigh on sentiment and multiples. Is Apple Falling Behind in Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Here’s What CEO Tim Cook Just Said.

Apple 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.