Apple Inc. $AAPL is World Investment Advisors' Largest Position

Key Points

• World Investment Advisors increased its Apple stake by 19.4% in Q4 to 877,186 shares (worth $238,472,000), making AAPL its largest holding at 3.8% of the fund's portfolio.
• Apple beat quarterly estimates with $2.84 EPS vs. $2.67 expected and $143.76B revenue (up 15.7% YoY); the stock trades with a $3.82T market cap and a consensus price target of $301.37 (average rating: Moderate Buy).
• Insiders sold shares recently — CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares and SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 30,002 shares under Rule 10b5‑1 plans — while institutional investors hold about 67.7% of Apple stock.

World Investment Advisors increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 877,186 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 142,701 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.8% of World Investment Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Apple were worth $238,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hirtle Callaghan & Co LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,163,000. Topsail Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Topsail Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,753 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,001,000 after buying an additional 1,171 shares in the last quarter. GGM Financials LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 7,377 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Birchbrook Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 13,199 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its position in shares of Apple by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 3,880,040 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,054,828,000 after acquiring an additional 442,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $259.87. The stock had a trading volume of 5,175,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,189,398. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $260.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $189.81 and a one year high of $288.62. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.Apple's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its AAPL price target to $325 and kept a "buy" rating, implying notable upside versus the current price — a clear analyst endorsement that can support the stock. Benzinga: BofA price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street analysts published bullish forecasts and upgrades for Apple this morning, reinforcing short-term analyst support and higher consensus price targets. Benzinga: 10 top analyst forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Reports suggest Apple could capture a large share of the foldable-phone market and analysts forecast significant revenue upside from a successful foldable iPhone rollout, supporting longer-term growth expectations. Benzinga: Apple's foldable iPhone competitive threat
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is testing smart‑glasses designs and has joined Project Glasswing (an AI/security collaboration), indicating ongoing product and AI/security initiatives that could expand service and hardware revenue over time. TechCrunch: Smart glasses testing Yahoo Finance: Project Glasswing
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple released iOS 26.5 beta 2 (developer testing continues). Software updates are expected but typically produce muted near-term stock reactions unless tied to major monetization changes. 9to5Mac: iOS 26.5 beta 2
• Neutral Sentiment: Strong demand for AI chips at TSMC signals continued strength in the AI hardware cycle, which indirectly benefits Apple’s supply chain and component availability but is not a direct company-specific catalyst. Yahoo Finance: TSMC profit/AI demand
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s head of AI is reportedly leaving the company — a governance/exec change that raises short‑term execution concerns as investors watch Apple’s AI roadmap. TipRanks: Head of AI leaving
• Negative Sentiment: Reports say production of the foldable iPhone has been pushed back (though a fall launch remains possible), creating short‑term delivery and supply concerns that can pressure sentiment ahead of product launch. MacRumors: Foldable iPhone production pushed back
• Negative Sentiment: A fake Ledger app on Apple's platforms drained significant Bitcoin from a user, spotlighting App Store security risks and potential reputational/consumer-trust issues. BeinCrypto: Fake Ledger app theft
• Negative Sentiment: Omdia reports China smartphone shipments declined year‑over‑year, highlighting near‑term demand pressure in a key market for Apple. Yahoo Finance: China smartphone shipments fell

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Phillip Securities upgraded Apple from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $239.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. KGI Securities upgraded Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $301.37.

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.

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