Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Acquired Rep. Julia Letlow

Representative Julia Letlow (Republican-Louisiana) recently bought shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). In a filing disclosed on March 12th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Apple stock on February 2nd. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MERRILL LYNCH INVESTMENT ACCOUNT #025” account.

Representative Julia Letlow also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of HF Sinclair (NYSE:DINO) on 2/20/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of BXP (NYSE:BXP) on 2/20/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) on 2/20/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) on 2/17/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) on 2/17/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) on 2/17/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of AT&T (NYSE:T) on 2/12/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR) on 2/12/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) on 2/12/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) on 2/12/2026.

Apple Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $248.80 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $260.24 and a 200 day moving average of $262.67. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders 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 payout ratio is 13.15%.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 23rd. CLSA upped their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. KGI Securities raised shares of Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.58.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush says 2026 could be a significant product year and raises upside potential (they reiterate Outperform and a $350 target), framing WWDC and AI-driven hardware as major catalysts. Apple in focus as Wedbush calls 2026 a ‘significant’ product launch year ahead of WWDC
• Positive Sentiment: Apple hired ex-Google executive Lilian Rincon as VP of product marketing for AI — a concrete senior hire to accelerate Siri/AI positioning and marketing. Apple hires ex-Google executive to head AI marketing amid push to improve Siri
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple will open Siri to rival AI assistants (Gemini, Claude, etc.) in iOS 27 — this pivot can broaden iPhone AI capabilities without Apple building everything in‑house. Apple Plans to Open Up Siri to Rival AI Assistants in iOS 27 Update
• Positive Sentiment: Services continue to grow (reported ~14% y/y, Apple TV and gaming aiding strength) — recurring high‑margin revenue supports earnings upside even if hardware cycles lag. Strong Streaming & Game Content Aids Apple’s Services: What’s Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple expands U.S. manufacturing program, adding Bosch, Cirrus Logic, TDK and Qnity and committing $400M — reduces supply‑chain risk and supports domestic sourcing narrative. Apple adds Bosch, Cirrus Logic, others to US manufacturing program, to invest $400 million
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is granting rare large stock bonuses to iPhone designers to curb talent departures to AI firms — a retention step to protect future product execution. Apple Drops Six Figure Bonuses To Stop iPhone Talent Exodus
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst tweak: Erste trimmed FY2027 EPS slightly — minimal change to consensus, but worth watching for estimate revisions. Apple Inc. analyst note (Erste Group) via MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Steve Wozniak publicly criticizes AI and says he hardly uses it — a reputational/PR datapoint but unlikely to move fundamentals. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak admits he’s ‘disappointed a lot’ by AI and hardly uses it
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech sector weakness — Nasdaq slide, Meta legal losses and geopolitical worries are pressuring tech stocks, which is dragging AAPL despite company‑specific positives. Tech stocks suffer worst week in nearly a year, driven down by war worries, Meta legal woes
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and abandoned future updates could concern pro users and niche revenue, though impact on total revenue is limited. Apple reportedly discontinues Mac Pro, abandons plans for future updates

About Representative Letlow

Julia Letlow (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District. She assumed office on April 14, 2021. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Letlow (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on November 3, 2026.

Julia Letlow earned a doctorate. Letlow’s career experience includes working as a senior administrator with the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

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.