Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Invests $7.35 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 28,868 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,351,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st 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 period. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is accelerating development of AI‑powered wearables (smart glasses, an AI pendant and camera‑equipped AirPods) that would extend Siri into “visual intelligence,” a narrative investors view as a new hardware/services growth vector. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views and raised targets (Wedbush maintained an Outperform and $350 target; Dan Ives highlighted large potential AI upside), giving investors confidence that Street expectations for Apple’s AI roadmap and valuation could rise. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market excitement ahead of Apple’s March 4 “special experience” event (multi‑city gatherings expected) is supporting the rally as investors anticipate new hardware and software updates that can broaden revenue streams. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product and services expansions — Apple rolling out video podcasts and pushing Apple Pay installment options in stores (iOS 26) — reinforce the services monetization story and recurring revenue potential. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway trimmed its Apple stake again in Q4 (continuing recent reductions), but Apple remains one of Berkshire’s largest holdings — a mixed signal that some large investors are rebalancing rather than abandoning the name. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern around delayed Siri upgrades and Apple’s relatively low AI capex vs. peers has weighed on the stock in recent weeks; unresolved Siri performance and reliance on external AI models pose execution and competitive risks. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector‑wide scrutiny of AI spending and regulator noise has pressured Big Tech valuations; broader market rotations and scrutiny of AI capex could cap upside if Apple’s AI roadmap slips. Read More.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $263.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $265.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.92. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Phillip Securities raised Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. DZ Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $239.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.13.

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.