Ballentine Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 372,367 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,560 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.3% of Ballentine Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $94,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in 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 last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is in talks to launch Apple Pay in India later this year — a large addressable market that could boost Services revenue and long‑term payment volume growth. Apple talks with banks to start payment service in India, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Apple asked a federal judge to dismiss a proposed class-action accusing it of overstating Siri AI progress — a legal defense that, if successful, would limit potential financial and reputational fallout. Apple seeks dismissal of fraud lawsuit over Siri AI, Epic injunction
• Positive Sentiment: Netflix will stream season eight of “Drive to Survive” on Apple TV and will broadcast the Canadian F1 Grand Prix live in the U.S. — a content partnership that supports Apple TV+ engagement and Services monetization. Netflix and Apple TV join forces on F1 content
• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook teased multiple product launches next week (new MacBooks, iPads, iPhone 17e) — potential near-term revenue catalysts and reasons for increased investor attention. Tim Cook Teases Apple Launch On Monday: Here’s What To Expect
• Neutral Sentiment: MoffettNathanson raised Apple’s price target to $270 but kept a “neutral” rating — a modest analyst repricing that signals mixed near‑term conviction despite strong fundamentals. Finviz
• Neutral Sentiment: J.P. Morgan highlights “AI companions” as a potential long-term tailwind for Apple — a bullish thematic view that supports multi‑year upside but is not an immediate earnings driver. AI Companions Could Make Apple Stock an AI Winner, Says J.P. Morgan
• Negative Sentiment: Spain’s antitrust regulator says Apple (and Amazon) were slow to comply with an order to remove anti‑competitive clauses — an active regulatory matter that could force contract or distribution changes and increase legal/compliance costs. Spain’s antitrust watchdog says Apple, Amazon took too long to refine anti-competitive contracts
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI hired a researcher who previously led Apple’s models team — a signal that AI talent is mobile and competition for top engineers remains intense, which could slow Apple’s AI roadmap execution. OpenAI hires Meta AI researcher who previously led Apple’s models team
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that several marquee investors trimmed Apple positions (Buffett, Dalio, Griffin) add psychological selling pressure and raise questions about near‑term insider/institutional conviction. Ken Griffin, Ray Dalio, and Warren Buffett All Sold More Apple Stock. Should You?

Apple Stock Down 0.5%

AAPL stock opened at $272.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $258.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Phillip Securities raised shares of Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $239.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Stephens set a $315.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $293.41.

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.