Apple Inc. $AAPL is World Investment Advisors’ Largest Position

World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 734,485 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,445 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.8% of World Investment Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its largest holding. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $187,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly naming Apple as a long‑term rival in AI underscores investor interest in Apple’s AI roadmap and ecosystem positioning — a potential tailwind for Services and device differentiation. Why Sam Altman Sees Apple (AAPL) as the Real Rival to ChatGPT
• Positive Sentiment: Rumors that the AirPods Pro 3 could gain infrared cameras suggest faster hardware refreshes and new features for wearables — a boost to Apple’s product-cycle narrative and Services monetization potential. Apple’s (AAPL) AirPods Pro 3 May Soon Get Infrared Cameras
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings previews point to continued margin expansion and a projected high‑single‑digit rise in profitability for the upcoming quarter — supportive of near‑term earnings expectations. Apple Earnings Preview: What to Expect
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate governance update — Apple appointed Ben Borders as Principal Accounting Officer. Routine leadership changes can slightly reassure on controls but are unlikely to move valuation materially. Apple appoints Ben Borders as principal accounting officer
• Neutral Sentiment: General market commentary and search interest pieces (e.g., Benzinga lists) show continued retail attention on AAPL but don’t imply immediate fundamental change. EXCLUSIVE: December’s 12 Most-Searched Tickers On Benzinga Pro – Where Do Tesla, Micron, Apple Stock Rank
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple has cut Vision Pro production and pulled back marketing after weaker‑than‑expected demand. That reduces near‑term hardware revenue upside and raises questions on the timing of returns from spatial‑computing investments. Apple cuts Vision Pro production and marketing after weak sales
• Negative Sentiment: Raymond James resumed coverage but moved to a market‑perform (neutral) rating, explicitly flagging limited upside given current valuation — a sentiment that can temper momentum and institutional buying. Raymond James resumes Apple coverage, flags limited upside at current valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Opinion pieces and a multi‑factor analysis (Forbes and others) suggesting reduced exposure highlight valuation risk — investors may trim positions if they believe upside is capped relative to premium multiples. Is It Time To Reduce Exposure To Apple Stock?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $271.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $273.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.63. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

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.