Payne Capital Management LLC Buys 3,247 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Payne Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 31.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,640 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,247 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.1% of Payne Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Payne Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC grew 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 buying an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 40,543 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: China strength: iPhone sales in China jumped ~23% in the first nine weeks of 2026, outpacing a weak local market and supporting Apple’s revenue and unit growth prospects in a key market. Apple’s China smartphone sales jump 23%
• Positive Sentiment: Product demand: Apple’s Mac had its best-ever launch week for first-time customers, signaling continued strength in Mac demand that can help hardware revenue mix. Apple Mac sees best ever launch week
• Positive Sentiment: Legal win on Apple Watch: A U.S. trade tribunal preliminarily ruled redesigned Apple Watches don’t infringe Masimo patents, fending off a renewed import ban and removing a regulatory/shutdown risk for Watch shipments. Apple Watch clears key patent challenge
• Positive Sentiment: AI/App Store monetization: Reporting suggests Apple made ~$900M from AI-related App Store activity last year and could top $1B soon — a recurring, high-margin revenue stream that supports services growth. Apple made $900M from AI
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO outreach: Tim Cook’s China visit reinforces focus on local partnerships and regulatory navigation — positive strategically but not an immediate earnings catalyst. Tim Cook’s China visit
• Neutral Sentiment: New integrations and content deals (Apple Health integrations, Apple TV sports/content deals) expand ecosystem stickiness but their near-term revenue impact is uncertain. Apple Health integrates with Perplexity Health
• Negative Sentiment: Security risk: Researchers flagged the “DarkSword” iOS exploit and related spyware/ghostblade campaigns targeting crypto wallets; Apple has issued alerts and pushed patches — security scares can dent consumer confidence and spur short-term churn or support costs. DarkSword iPhone exploit threatens wallets
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment and positioning: Some AI-driven price models are bearish for Q2 and there’s visible insider selling and mixed analyst positioning — these contribute to short-term selling pressure. AI sets Apple stock price for Q2 2026

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. Maxim Group raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.58.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $247.99 on Friday. 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 cap of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $260.99 and a 200-day moving average of $261.97. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.