Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Increased by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Key Points

• Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its Apple position 2.5% in Q3 to 6,122,841 shares (added 148,795 shares), holdings worth $1.559 billion and representing about 4.4% of the firm’s assets, making AAPL its fourth-largest holding.
• Apple beat expectations in its most recent quarter with $2.84 EPS vs. $2.67 est and $143.76 billion revenue (up 15.7% YoY); the company also paid a $0.26 quarterly dividend ($1.04 annualized, 0.4% yield) and continues sizable buybacks supported by strong cash flow.
• Analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $297.58 and several recent upgrades to Buy (targets $300–$325), though some analysts cite valuation and China shipment weakness as potential risks.

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,122,841 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 148,795 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 4.4% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,559,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the second 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. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $297.58.

Apple Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $255.76 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $262.49 and a 200 day moving average of $261.14.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MacBook Neo launch — Apple unveiled the $599 MacBook Neo aimed at education and budget buyers; reviewers (including MKBHD) praise it as highly disruptive, which could expand unit volumes and market share. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect meaningful initial units — Some research notes forecast 4–5 million MacBook Neo shipments this year, suggesting upside to Mac revenue if adoption meets expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: India manufacturing incentives — New Indian incentives to boost local phone production support Apple’s ongoing shift of iPhone assembly to India, reducing China concentration risk and potentially lowering tariff exposure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Buyback and cash flow support — Coverage highlights a large share‑repurchase (reported $24B) and strong free cash flow that help support the stock through market volatility, but these are longer‑term cushions rather than immediate catalysts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data appears noisy — Reports show a large "increase" in short interest but the underlying data is zero/NaN, indicating a likely reporting glitch rather than a substantive change in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: China shipment weakness — UBS reiterated a Hold citing sharp declines in iPhone shipments in China, a direct hit to growth expectations for Apple’s largest hardware category. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Supplier cost pressure — Samsung Display’s CEO warned that higher oil and chip prices (and related supply‑cost inflation) could increase component costs for phones and laptops, pressuring margins industrywide. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and "no catalyst" views — Coverage notes AAPL trades at a premium P/E versus peers and some analysts say there's no near‑term catalyst to justify further multiple expansion, leaving the stock vulnerable to broader market weakness. Article Title

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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