Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 120,048 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,290 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.6% of Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $30,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 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 valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 5.0%

AAPL stock opened at $261.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $267.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.22. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, CLSA increased their price objective on Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.13.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results and continued iPhone strength, which underpins revenue and margin resilience. Here’s Why Apple’s Stock Dropped 5% Today
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its price target and bullish analyst notes highlight Apple’s AI roadmap and services upside, offering a longer-term constructive view. Sanford C. Bernstein Raises Apple Price Target to $340.00
• Positive Sentiment: Apple bought full rights to the hit show “Severance” and will produce future seasons in-house — a strategic push for Apple TV+ that can boost content control and margins long term. Apple acquires all rights to Severance, will produce future seasons in-house
• Neutral Sentiment: Vision Pro added YouTube, which improves platform utility, but VR demand is reported to be cooling — a mixed signal for device adoption and services monetization. Apple’s Vision Pro Gets YouTube, but VR Demand Keeps Sliding
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple’s major Siri AI upgrade has run into testing problems and will be delayed, undermining near-term AI momentum and stoking investor concern about execution. Apple has worst day since April as company faces FTC scrutiny, Siri delay reports
• Negative Sentiment: The FTC has publicly raised concerns about alleged bias in Apple News and asked CEO Tim Cook to review curation policies, adding regulatory risk and political headlines that can pressure shares. US FTC airs concerns over allegations that Apple suppresses right-wing content on Apple News
• Negative Sentiment: Wider market AI fears and reports that investors are marking down Apple’s valuation led to an estimated ~$200B market-cap hit as funds rotate away from megacap AI exposure. Apple sees $200 billion market-cap wipeout as stock slides on AI fears

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.