Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Has $63.22 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 248,267 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,753 shares during the period. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $63,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 57,898,088 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 20,464.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.58.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $250.12 on Monday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.74. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date 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.

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.