Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Raised by Waycross Partners LLC

Waycross Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 259,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 8,055 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 5.8% of Waycross Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $70,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MacBook Neo demand and Bank of America bullish thesis — BofA keeps a Buy rating and $320 price target, citing the MacBook Neo’s instant sellouts as a catalyst to expand Apple’s addressable PC market and upside to revenue. Apple MacBook Neo could expand market reach, says Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Big-investor backing and quality-story momentum — Coverage notes renewed institutional confidence (including mentions of Buffett and Ken Griffin), reinforcing Apple’s “quality tech” status and supporting investor demand in choppy markets. Here’s Why Warren Buffett and Ken Griffin Love Apple (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Tim Cook stock sale disclosed — Tim Cook sold roughly $16.5M of Apple shares. The filing increases headline risk and can spur short-term noise, but context (routine diversification vs. signal of concern) will shape investor reaction. Apple (AAPL) Stock Holds Strong Despite CEO’s $16.5M Share Sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal fight with Epic escalates — Apple has filed to take parts of the Epic Games App Store dispute back to the U.S. Supreme Court; continued litigation raises liability and operating-risk headlines but no immediate earnings impact. Apple plans Supreme Court appeal in Epic Games App Store battle — again
• Neutral Sentiment: App-store compliance in China — Apple removed a high-profile app (Bitchat) from the China App Store at Beijing’s request, underscoring regulatory sensitivity in a key market; this is a reputational/regulatory access risk but not an immediate revenue hit. Apple Removes Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat From China App Store
• Negative Sentiment: Foldable iPhone engineering snags — Nikkei/Reuters report testing problems that could push mass-production and shipments back by months, creating the risk of missed launch/timing-driven revenue and margin upside tied to a new product category. Apple’s foldable iPhone encounters engineering snags, faces potential shipment delays, Nikkei Asia reports
• Negative Sentiment: China AI patent/regulatory setbacks — Apple temporarily pulled Apple Intelligence in China amid regulator pushback, and a China court ruling upholding key AI patents tied to a small rival raises potential infringement exposure and uncertainty for Apple’s AI rollout in its second-largest market. These items increase regulatory and legal execution risk for AI features and services in China. Apple China AI Setback Puts Regulatory Risk In Investor Focus Xiao-I (AIXI) jumps 166.9% as investors react to China top-court ruling upholding key AI patents in Apple dispute

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Phillip Securities upgraded Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Apple from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.58.

Apple Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $258.86 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $260.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.70. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.15%.

Apple Company 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.