Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Sells 2,177 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,992 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,177 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.2% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its stake 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 acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 41.0% during the second quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its street-high price target to $350, arguing Apple’s AI-capable Macs and refreshed product cycle could unlock ~33% upside — a clear bullish signal for investors. Wedbush $350 target
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators highlight Apple’s AI approach (hardware + Google Gemini partnership) as a profitability-focused alternative to the capex-heavy AI race — narrative supports margins and services monetization. AAPL Not Running AI Race Paying Off? iPhone & Google Gemini Add Tech Muscle
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s exclusive U.S. Formula 1 streaming deal for Apple TV expands services revenue and engagement — a structural positive for recurring revenue and ecosystem stickiness. Formula 1 and Apple’s big gamble
• Positive Sentiment: The MacBook Neo ($599) and entry-level iPhone broaden addressable market (students and price-sensitive buyers), which could modestly increase unit volumes and services attach over time. Apple Slashes Entry Price With MacBook Neo
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller analyst moves: Rosenblatt nudged its PT slightly and Barclays revised targets in recent notes — these are incremental but keep the debate active on upside scope. Rosenblatt/Benzinga note
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains a staple in dividend-growth ETFs (e.g., DGRO), reinforcing long-term passive demand even amid short-term volatility. DGRO / Market context
• Negative Sentiment: Some outlets reported an immediate share pullback after the budget-product announcements (concerns about margin dilution and the market’s rotation away from expensive Big Tech/AI spenders). That knee-jerk selling contributed to intraday weakness. Apple stock slid after MacBook Neo
• Negative Sentiment: Wider market pressure on AI-capex-heavy names and headlines about “Big Tech” valuation compression mean Apple can be caught up in sector moves even as company-specific fundamentals remain strong. Big Tech valuation rotation
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in some feeds showed a spike but the reports contain inconsistent values (0 shares / NaN) — treat that as likely reporting noise rather than evidence of a large coordinated short. (No reliable source link available in the feed.)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson raised their target price on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.58.

Apple Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AAPL opened at $257.46 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $263.56 and a 200-day moving average of $260.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.