Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Sells 1,863 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 151,796 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,863 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.4% of Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Apple were worth $38,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first 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 during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

AAPL stock opened at $273.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $288.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $267.63 and its 200-day moving average is $255.03.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Phillip Securities raised shares of Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $239.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.13.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target to $340 and kept an “outperform” rating — a sizable upside vs. the current stock level that supports bullish analyst momentum for AAPL.
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein’s Mark Newman says a strong iPhone 17 cycle is driving better‑than‑expected revenue and helped the firm hike its price target. Strong iPhone 17 cycle giving better than expected revenue, says Bernstein’s Mark Newman
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed surging revenue and free-cash-flow margins, prompting some analysts and options traders to lift targets and consider bullish option strategies — a direct fundamental tailwind for valuation.
• Positive Sentiment: Media and commentators note Apple’s conservative approach to AI capex (avoiding huge data‑center spending) as a profit-preserving advantage versus hyperscalers, reinforcing margin resilience. Jim Cramer on Apple (AAPL): “Doesn’t Hurt That They’ve Avoided Spending Hundreds of Billions of Dollars on Data Centers”
• Positive Sentiment: Supply-chain checks suggest a “solid outlook” for Apple components and inventory, which supports near‑term revenue visibility. Apple in focus as GF says supply chain survey suggests ‘solid outlook’
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple and Google agreed to app‑store changes to satisfy the UK regulator — this reduces regulatory overhang in that market but is incremental to global revenue. Apple and Google agree app store changes to appease UK regulator
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data for Feb. 10 appears to be erroneous (shows zero shares and NaN change) — not a meaningful signal for shares today.
• Neutral Sentiment: High‑profile investors (e.g., Peter Thiel’s fund) including Apple in a contrarian AI exposure list provides some institutional endorsement but is not a catalyst by itself. Thiel Bypasses Palantir and Nvidia for Meta, Tesla, Apple in Contrarian AI Play
• Negative Sentiment: Several pieces raise caution: some investors warn the Magnificent 7 (including AAPL) could underperform amid rising capex and rotation risks, which can pressure multiples. Why This Investor Thinks Magnificent 7 Stocks May Underperform This Year
• Negative Sentiment: Questions persist in the press about Apple’s AI positioning and whether it may be falling behind peers — any signs of execution gaps on AI could weigh on sentiment and multiples. Is Apple Falling Behind in Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Here’s What CEO Tim Cook Just Said.

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.