AE Wealth Management LLC Buys 206,188 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,010,129 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 206,188 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.3% of AE Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $511,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 41.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 3.2%

AAPL stock opened at $264.18 on Friday. 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.20. The company has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook teased a series of product launches next week (new iPhone, iPad, MacBook announcements), which typically lifts demand expectations and short‑term investor sentiment. Tim Cook Teases Apple Launch On Monday
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Netflix agreed to co‑broadcast the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Apple TV and Netflix, a partnership that can boost Apple TV viewership and services engagement. Apple and Netflix team up to air Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix
• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg/Reuters report Apple is in talks to launch Apple Pay in India — a multi‑hundred‑million‑user market that could materially grow services revenues over time. Apple talks with banks to start payment service in India
• Positive Sentiment: Apple moved to dismiss a proposed class action alleging it misled investors on Siri’s AI progress — if successful, this reduces a legal overhang. Apple seeks dismissal of fraud lawsuit over Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan highlighted Apple’s potential to benefit from AI “companions” and Apple Intelligence initiatives, reinforcing the view that Apple can monetize AI through devices and services. AI Companions Could Make Apple Stock an AI Winner
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in recent filings appears anomalous/zero (likely reporting error), so it provides no clear directional signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Heightened retail/institutional search and ETF coverage mention Apple as a core holding (Zacks, Vanguard ETF pieces), reflecting continued investor attention but not immediate directional impact. Investors Heavily Search Apple Inc. (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Advisors and funds continue to rebalance allocations (mentions of trades to balance Nvidia/Apple exposure), indicating portfolio flows but not a clear buy/sell signal. Advisor added to bond position to balance Nvidia and Apple holdings
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI hired a high‑profile researcher who previously led Apple’s models team, underscoring talent competition in AI that could challenge Apple’s pace of AI product development. OpenAI hires Meta AI researcher who previously led Apple’s models team
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/market pressure: coverage on Magnificent Seven profit-taking and elevated Nasdaq stress gauges suggests sectorwide selling/volatility, which depresses large-cap tech stocks including AAPL. Stocks Are Set for a February Slide. Can the Magnificent 7 Spark a March Rebound?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.41.

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.