Marietta Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Marietta Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,129 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.8% of Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $31,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 13.2% in the second quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,740,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,107,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 2.2% during the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $101,301,000 after acquiring an additional 8,446 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple formally tapped Google’s Gemini to power the next Siri and other AI features — a faster route to a competitive AI user experience that could accelerate device refresh cycles and Services monetization. Why Apple Chose Google to Power the Future of AI
• Positive Sentiment: Apple launched Creator Studio, a $12.99/month subscription bundling creative apps with new AI features — a near-term Services revenue catalyst that helps diversify recurring revenue beyond hardware. Apple rolls out Creator Studio
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and firms reaffirmed bullish views after the Gemini tie-up (Wedbush, J.P. Morgan commentary), supporting the investment case that Apple can boost Services growth while preserving capital discipline. Wedbush Reiterates Outperform on Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Early reviews of Vision Pro continue to be mixed — strong technical demo value but user experience gaps remain; important for long‑term AR/VR monetization but unlikely to move near‑term revenue materially. I Watched the Lakers-Bucks Game Courtside on Apple Vision Pro (CNET)
• Neutral Sentiment: High‑profile portfolio moves (e.g., Peter Thiel shifting capital into Apple) can signal institutional interest, but such filings are noisy and not definitive proof of sustained buying pressure. Why Peter Thiel Just Sold All His Nvidia Stock for Apple and Microsoft
• Neutral Sentiment: Unverified remarks suggesting Apple invested in Intel created chatter that helped INTC shares — impacts for Apple are speculative and likely immaterial unless confirmed. “Apple Went In”: Intel Stock Gains
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a shortage in a key chipboard material (high‑grade glass cloth) could constrain Apple device supply or raise component costs if the bottleneck persists — a tangible short‑term production risk. AI Demand Triggers Chip Material Shortage
• Negative Sentiment: Coalitions of women’s and advocacy groups are pressuring Apple (and Google) to remove X/Grok from app stores over AI‑generated sexualized content — a reputational and regulatory risk that could force policy changes or moderation costs. Women’s groups call on Apple, Google to drop X and Grok

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. CLSA upped their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $283.36 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Two research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.07.

Apple Trading Down 0.4%

AAPL opened at $259.96 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $272.28 and a 200 day moving average of $248.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

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.