Wharton Business Group LLC Sells 2,115 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Wharton Business Group LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 436,126 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,115 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.4% of Wharton Business Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Wharton Business Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $111,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.8% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 5,718 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,456,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Aspetuck Financial Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Aspetuck Financial Management LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,507,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Boyer National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,695,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Apple from $239.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.58.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $257.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.10. 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 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.46.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its street-high price target to $350, arguing Apple’s AI-capable Macs and refreshed product cycle could unlock ~33% upside — a clear bullish signal for investors. Wedbush $350 target
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators highlight Apple’s AI approach (hardware + Google Gemini partnership) as a profitability-focused alternative to the capex-heavy AI race — narrative supports margins and services monetization. AAPL Not Running AI Race Paying Off? iPhone & Google Gemini Add Tech Muscle
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s exclusive U.S. Formula 1 streaming deal for Apple TV expands services revenue and engagement — a structural positive for recurring revenue and ecosystem stickiness. Formula 1 and Apple’s big gamble
• Positive Sentiment: The MacBook Neo ($599) and entry-level iPhone broaden addressable market (students and price-sensitive buyers), which could modestly increase unit volumes and services attach over time. Apple Slashes Entry Price With MacBook Neo
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller analyst moves: Rosenblatt nudged its PT slightly and Barclays revised targets in recent notes — these are incremental but keep the debate active on upside scope. Rosenblatt/Benzinga note
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains a staple in dividend-growth ETFs (e.g., DGRO), reinforcing long-term passive demand even amid short-term volatility. DGRO / Market context
• Negative Sentiment: Some outlets reported an immediate share pullback after the budget-product announcements (concerns about margin dilution and the market’s rotation away from expensive Big Tech/AI spenders). That knee-jerk selling contributed to intraday weakness. Apple stock slid after MacBook Neo
• Negative Sentiment: Wider market pressure on AI-capex-heavy names and headlines about “Big Tech” valuation compression mean Apple can be caught up in sector moves even as company-specific fundamentals remain strong. Big Tech valuation rotation
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in some feeds showed a spike but the reports contain inconsistent values (0 shares / NaN) — treat that as likely reporting noise rather than evidence of a large coordinated short. (No reliable source link available in the feed.)

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.