J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,185,991 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 40,646 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.8% of J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $301,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Payne Capital LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $3,011,000. Post Resch Tallon Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the third quarter. Post Resch Tallon Group Inc. now owns 5,675 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Lokken Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 35,949 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,154,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the period. Baker Boyer National Bank raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.5% in the third quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,825 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,793,000 after buying an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Marin grew its position in Apple by 0.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Marin now owns 27,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,066,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 0.5%

Apple stock opened at $262.52 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $264.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.06. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Moffett Nathanson raised their target price on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.56.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New addressable market: Apple launched the low‑cost MacBook Neo starting at $599 ($499 student), a clear push into education and budget PC segments that could drive volume and new users for the ecosystem. Apple debuts $599 MacBook Neo to challenge Chromebooks, Windows PCs
• Positive Sentiment: AI and upgrade cycle upside: Apple rolled out M5 chips, new displays and device updates that support an AI/hardware upgrade thesis; some Wall Street firms maintain bullish targets and Buy ratings reflecting multi‑quarter upside. Wedbush maintains $350 Apple target as product blitz reinforces AI hardware push
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed pricing strategy: Apple paired the Neo with higher base prices for M5 MacBook Air/Pro models — a potential boost to ASPs but an uncertain demand trade‑off in a price‑sensitive market. Apple raises MacBook prices across the board as M5 chips, new displays signal AI-first strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term market reaction: Despite the announcements, shares slipped as investors digested potential margin pressure from the mix of low‑priced models and costlier M5 upgrades; some outlets reported analyst target revisions and short‑term selling. Analyst revises Apple stock price target as new MacBook Neo announced
• Negative Sentiment: Supply/cost risks: A global memory‑chip shortage and higher component costs have forced Apple to raise some Mac prices and could squeeze margins or constrain supply for higher‑end models. Apple Uses Low Prices to Attack Rivals During Memory-Chip Crunch

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.