Bessemer Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,943,730 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 411,092 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.7% of Bessemer Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Apple worth $3,041,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 110.9% during 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 position 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its holdings in shares of 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 bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New addressable market: Apple launched the low‑cost MacBook Neo starting at $599 ($499 student), a clear push into education and budget PC segments that could drive volume and new users for the ecosystem. Apple debuts $599 MacBook Neo to challenge Chromebooks, Windows PCs
• Positive Sentiment: AI and upgrade cycle upside: Apple rolled out M5 chips, new displays and device updates that support an AI/hardware upgrade thesis; some Wall Street firms maintain bullish targets and Buy ratings reflecting multi‑quarter upside. Wedbush maintains $350 Apple target as product blitz reinforces AI hardware push
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed pricing strategy: Apple paired the Neo with higher base prices for M5 MacBook Air/Pro models — a potential boost to ASPs but an uncertain demand trade‑off in a price‑sensitive market. Apple raises MacBook prices across the board as M5 chips, new displays signal AI-first strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term market reaction: Despite the announcements, shares slipped as investors digested potential margin pressure from the mix of low‑priced models and costlier M5 upgrades; some outlets reported analyst target revisions and short‑term selling. Analyst revises Apple stock price target as new MacBook Neo announced
• Negative Sentiment: Supply/cost risks: A global memory‑chip shortage and higher component costs have forced Apple to raise some Mac prices and could squeeze margins or constrain supply for higher‑end models. Apple Uses Low Prices to Attack Rivals During Memory-Chip Crunch

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Phillip Securities raised Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.56.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $262.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $260.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.

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.