Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by Fred Alger Management LLC

Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,112,719 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 370,053 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.1% of Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,047,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 98,917.0% during the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,106,000 after acquiring an additional 57,898,088 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. CLSA increased their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $239.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 29th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.58.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $250.12 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $262.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.74.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new low-cost devices (MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e) broaden addressable market and could win share versus cheaper Windows/Chromebooks — a strategic growth lever even if it pressures near-term margins. How Apple’s new low-cost MacBook Neo may shake up the market
• Positive Sentiment: Early Formula 1 ratings for AppleTV’s exclusive U.S. stream were strong, supporting the thesis that exclusive sports/content deals can grow Services subscriptions and engagement over time. Apple Gets Early Formula 1 Ratings Win
• Positive Sentiment: India’s plan to roll fresh smartphone manufacturing incentives could help Apple expand local production and improve margin/market access over the medium term. India plans fresh incentives for phone production
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed: a few firms raised targets or reiterated buys while others stay cautious/neutral; median price targets remain above the market, keeping a longer-term bullish backdrop but no unanimous near-term catalyst. Apple Stock Opinions on Tech Sector Pullback
• Negative Sentiment: Apple cut its mainland China App Store commission to 25% (and mini-app fees to 12%) after regulator talks — good for developer relations but a direct hit to Services take-rate and near-term revenue in its second‑largest market. Apple cuts China App Store commission fees after government pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Strong insider selling and social/board chatter about a tech pullback and China demand risks are weighing on sentiment — traders are highlighting technical weakness and short-term bearish views. Apple Stock Opinions on Tech Sector Pullback
• Negative Sentiment: Macro and supply‑chain risks (memory/storage cost inflation and geopolitical disruption tied to the Iran war) could raise component costs and compress device margins if Apple absorbs price moves to hold consumer prices. The Iran War Could Upend AI. Here’s How.

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.