Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc

Key Points

• Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc raised its stake in Apple by 5.1% in Q4 to 51,458 shares (worth $13.99 million), making AAPL ~2.9% of the firm's holdings and its 8th largest position.
• Apple beat quarterly estimates with $2.84 EPS vs $2.67 expected and revenue of $143.76B (up 15.7% YoY), while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and a $297.58 target.
• Company developments include a $400M U.S. manufacturing investment as upside catalysts; however, Apple faces near‑term risks from geopolitical threats, an adverse patent ruling and an executive departure.

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,458 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,475 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.9% of Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $13,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 98,917.0% in the 2nd quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,106,000 after buying an additional 57,898,088 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% during 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 buying an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during 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 buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $297.58.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $255.63 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $260.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple expanded its U.S. Manufacturing Program with a $400M investment through 2030 to bolster domestic production of critical components — a move that should help supply resilience and long‑term margins. Apple Inc. (AAPL) Expands U.S. Manufacturing Program with $400M Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating and flagged a potential foldable iPhone and WWDC roadmap as major upside catalysts that could reignite product cycles. Wedbush Reiterates Outperform on Apple Inc. (AAPL)
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts point to accelerating services monetization (higher‑margin recurring revenue) and Siri/AI feature tests (multi‑request Siri) as supporting revenue diversification beyond the iPhone. Apple Inc. (AAPL) Focused on Service Monetization to Accelerate Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s 50th anniversary generated broad retrospectives on its franchise and strategy; such coverage supports brand strength but raises scrutiny on AI execution and succession planning. Apple's 50-year journey from garage to tech titan
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple released a firmware update for AirTag 2 (3.0.45) — routine product maintenance that matters for customer trust but has limited direct impact on revenue. Apple just changed AirTag 2’s anti-stalking feature - 9to5Mac
• Neutral Sentiment: D. E. Shaw trimmed its AAPL holding — a portfolio move that may reflect rebalancing rather than fundamental conviction change. Apple Inc. (AAPL): D. E. Shaw Trims Holding
• Negative Sentiment: Iran’s IRGC publicly threatened U.S. tech firms, including Apple — geopolitical risk can pressure shares via supply‑chain, regional operations or investor risk premia. Iran threatens Nvidia, Apple and other tech giants with attack
• Negative Sentiment: A final court ruling upheld Xiao‑I Corp patents in a dispute with Apple — adverse IP decisions can lead to damages, licensing costs or operational restrictions in key markets. Xiao-I Corp. Wins Final Supreme Court Ruling Upholding Patents in Apple Dispute
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s fitness chief is retiring amid harassment allegations — a reputational and leadership headwind for the services/wearables business. Apple's Fitness Chief, Who Was Accused of Harassment, Is Retiring

About Apple

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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