Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC boosted its Apple stake by 7.4%, adding 2,342 shares to hold 33,999 shares worth $9.243 million, which is 2.1% of the firm's portfolio and its 14th largest position.
• Large institutions also made sizeable moves—Norges Bank, Nuveen and Northern Trust reported multibillion-dollar positions—leaving hedge funds and other institutions owning about 67.7% of Apple stock.
• Analyst sentiment is largely positive with an average price target of $297.58, and Apple recently beat quarterly expectations (EPS $2.84 vs $2.67; revenue $143.76B, +15.7% YoY), reinforcing the growth outlook.

Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,999 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,342 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.1% of Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $9,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Apple by 98,917.0% during the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,106,000 after buying an additional 57,898,088 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore reiterated an Outperform and kept a $330 price target, citing strong momentum in Apple’s services monetization that could accelerate revenue growth. Apple Inc. (AAPL) Focused on Service Monetization to Accelerate Revenue Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reiterated Outperform with a $350 target and flagged WWDC / a possible foldable iPhone as a near-term catalyst that could re‑ignite device momentum. Wedbush Reiterates Outperform on Apple Inc. (AAPL) Amid Anticipation of Foldable iPhone
• Positive Sentiment: Large hedge-fund interest: D. E. Shaw holds a multibillion-dollar stake (listed among its top picks), signaling institutional confidence. D. E. Shaw Stock Portfolio: Top 5 Stocks to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett publicly said he “sold Apple too soon” and would consider buying more at the right price — a credibility boost for long-term investors. Warren Buffett says he sold Apple too soon and would buy more of it, though not in this market
• Positive Sentiment: Product/AI upgrade: Reuters/Bloomberg reports Apple is testing a Siri feature that can handle multiple commands in one prompt — a visible AI catch-up move investors like. Apple tests Siri feature that handles multiple commands at once, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals: reports say iPhone demand remains resilient in China, helping offset weakness at some Android rivals and supporting device revenue outlooks. iPhone Demand Holds Strong in China Despite Market Slump
• Neutral Sentiment: Services integrations continue (Bandsintown added concert listings to Apple Music with iOS 26.4), which is constructive for engagement but a slow revenue play. BANDSINTOWN POWERS CONCERT LISTINGS ON APPLE MUSIC WITH THE RELEASE OF IOS 26.4
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts flag a recent pullback/valuation reset and tariff concerns — a reminder upside may depend on execution (services + new devices) rather than easy valuation re-rating. Assessing Apple (AAPL) Valuation After Recent Share Price Pullback And Tariff Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple has stepped up App Store enforcement against “vibe‑coding” AI apps; critics say this risks alienating developers and slows AI ecosystem momentum. Apple Cracks Down on Vibe Coding Services in App Store
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory & geopolitical noise: a UK fine for sanctions breaches at a European unit and inclusion on an Iran “retaliation” list highlight legal/security risks that can pressure shares. Apple subsidiary fined for breaching Russian sanctions Palantir, Tesla, Apple Top Iran Retaliation List

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $297.58.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $253.79 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $260.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.15%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.