Welch Group LLC boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 378,099 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,918 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.8% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $96,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,415,932,804 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $290,506,933,000 after buying an additional 15,141,995 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $123,358,461,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224,229 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $72,506,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942,638 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its stake in Apple by 573,627.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $39,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 205,656,808 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,942,255,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $271.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $273.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.79. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $288.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.26 dividend. 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, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.92.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Apple

Key Stores Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect solid Q1 (fiscal) results and high‑single‑digit profit growth, supporting near‑term earnings momentum tied to the holiday iPhone cycle. Apple Earnings Preview: What to Expect
• Positive Sentiment: iPhone strength and services expansion remain the core upside drivers — iPhone 17 demand and recurring services revenue continue to underpin margins and cash flow. Where Will Apple Stock Be in 1 Year?
• Positive Sentiment: Longer‑term AI themes may help Apple via “invisible”/embedded AI across devices and services, a potential multi‑year catalyst that investors reference when valuing AAPL. Why Apple Stock Could Benefit From ‘Invisible’ AI?
• Neutral Sentiment: Raymond James has resumed coverage but flagged limited upside at current valuation — a reminder that much future upside is tied to execution on new products and services growth, not just momentum. Raymond James resumes Apple coverage, flags limited upside at current valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is cutting production and marketing for the $3,499 Vision Pro after weaker‑than‑expected consumer demand — a direct hit to expectations for a new hardware growth engine and a signal the “spatial computing” market remains niche for now. This news is the primary downward pressure on sentiment today. Apple Retreats on Vision Pro as Consumer Demand Falls Short
• Negative Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway has trimmed Apple and reallocated into other AI names, which both reduces a high‑profile buyer and signals some institutional repositioning away from AAPL at current prices. Berkshire Is Selling Apple Stock and Buying This Other Magnificent Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Instead

About Apple

(Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Before you consider Apple, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on… and Apple wasn’t on the list.

While Apple currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here