Bailard Inc. Reduces Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Bailard Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 847,956 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 33,338 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.7% of Bailard Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $215,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Apple by 4.6% during the second quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,740,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares in the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the second quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $101,301,000 after buying an additional 8,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Apple by 48.4% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $363,256,000 after purchasing an additional 465,393 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple News Summary

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

AAPL opened at $263.88 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $265.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $256.92. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.09. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $276.47 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded 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. One equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.