Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Violich Capital Management Inc.

Violich Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,667 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,747 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 6.5% of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $54,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in Apple by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 523,378 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,236,000 after buying an additional 29,104 shares during the last quarter. Jericho Financial LLP raised its position in Apple by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jericho Financial LLP now owns 32,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,314,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 21,218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,403,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $22,275,000. Finally, Defender Capital LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.5% in the third quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 4,953 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,261,191,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 2.3%

Apple stock opened at $255.78 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $266.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given 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 is currently 13.15%.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong iPhone momentum and quarter results — iPhone 17 sales and overall revenue remained robust, supporting fundamentals and cushioning the pullback. Zacks: Strong iPhone Sales
• Positive Sentiment: Legal victory removes a potential multi‑hundred‑million dollar liability — a U.S. jury rejected Optis Wireless’ 4G patent claims, reducing near-term litigation risk. Benzinga: Optis Verdict
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target, reflecting confidence in Apple’s growth trajectory and giving investors a bullish reference point. Bernstein PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Content and services moves — Apple acquired full rights to the hit show “Severance” and added YouTube to Vision Pro, which are strategically positive for services but unlikely to move near‑term earnings materially. TechCrunch: Severance Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Major shareholder cash flow note — Berkshire Hathaway received a large Apple dividend, underscoring Apple’s cash returns but also spotlighting Berkshire’s large position dynamics. Finbold: Berkshire Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Siri AI upgrade delays and testing problems — reports that the Siri overhaul is running into accuracy and speed problems forced Apple to push features back, directly hitting the AI narrative investors were pricing in. CNBC: Siri Delay / Market Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk from FTC letter over Apple News — the FTC chair urged review of Apple News curation amid accusations of political bias, adding regulatory/legal uncertainty and headline risk. NYT: FTC Letter
• Negative Sentiment: Fund flow and institutional trimming amid sector pressure — several funds reduced Apple exposure and broader “Magnificent Seven” weakness amplified the selloff, raising short‑term downside pressure. Barron’s: Institutional Moves

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Argus set a $325.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $239.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.13.

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.