Apple Inc. $AAPL Holdings Lowered by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 231,949 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,389 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 6.4% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Apple were worth $59,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is rolling out an integrated video-podcast experience (audio ↔ video switching) and lining up distribution partners (Acast), expanding services revenue and competing with YouTube/Spotify — a clear product/service catalyst. Apple takes on YouTube and Spotify with a new video podcast push
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has invited media to a March 4 product launch, giving investors a near-term event (new devices) that could drive upgrades and sentiment if hardware surprises meet expectations. Apple Preps for March 4 Product Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: Soros Fund Management and Adventist Health System Sunbelt reportedly increased Apple stakes, signaling confidence from some large investors. Soros Fund Management boosts Apple stake with 66,503 shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple shares are trading below average analyst price targets after a recent pullback — this highlights potential upside if fundamentals hold, but also shows a gap between analysts and market pricing. Apple (AAPL) Trading 10% Below Analyst Targets After This Week’s 8% Drop
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported for mid-February appears anomalous/zeroed out — not a clear signal of growing bearish positioning based on the available report. (Data note; interpret cautiously.)
• Negative Sentiment: Market concern about Apple’s Siri/AI timeline intensified after reports described a delayed Siri AI upgrade as a “shocker,” raising fears about Apple falling behind rivals in generative-AI voice assistants — a driver of today’s negative sentiment. Apple’s Siri shocker is flashing a warning AAPL bulls can’t ignore
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and media commentary framed the recent pullback as a “falling knife” after the Siri delay, amplifying short-term selling pressure and cautious positioning among traders. Apple Stock Forecast — Should You Catch this Falling Knife?
• Negative Sentiment: Portfolio moves and hedge-fund activity: Maverick Capital trimmed Apple, and reports of high-profile insider/office sales (e.g., Pelosi trades reported by media) are adding to near-term selling narrative. Maverick Capital Cuts Apple Position as Lee Ainslie Trims

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $255.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $288.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $266.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.48.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.26 dividend. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Argus set a $325.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.13.

Apple Company 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.