Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $5.31 Billion Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,867,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 511,176 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.7% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of Apple worth $5,313,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the third 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 last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 41.0% in the second 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 and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $263.75 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $264.36 and a 200-day moving average of $260.05.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New MacBook Air/Pro lineup with M5 chips and revamped Studio Displays reinforces Apple’s device‑level AI strategy and supports higher ASPs and services attachment. Apple launches new generation of MacBook laptops
• Positive Sentiment: Apple introduced a lower‑cost iPhone 17e (starting $599) and upgraded iPad Air, which should help defend share in price‑sensitive markets and broaden upgrade cycles. Apple launches iPhone 17e
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America keeps a Buy rating and $325 price target, citing sustained services momentum and device‑level AI upside — a bullish analyst endorsement for medium‑term upside. BofA maintains Buy on Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data showed a reported large increase but the published figures read as 0 shares/NaN (days‑to‑cover 0.0) — likely a reporting glitch, so no clear bearish signal from short sellers at this time.
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target modestly (from $239 to $248) but kept an “underweight” rating — a mixed signal (higher PT but continued cautious stance). Barclays raises PT but stays underweight
• Negative Sentiment: Apple increased MacBook prices (Air up ~$100; Pro up more, some models +$400) as memory‑chip shortages and rising component costs push up ASPs — this can boost near‑term revenue but risks dampening unit demand and margin visibility. Apple raises MacBook prices amid chip shortage
• Negative Sentiment: Warren Buffett/Berkshire materially trimmed its Apple stake (reports say a ~75% sale in his final filings), a high‑profile shareholder reduction that can amplify near‑term selling pressure and sentiment risk. How Berkshire Hathaway performed during Buffett’s final quarter

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $276.47 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Maxim Group upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $296.07.

Apple 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.