Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Lowered by JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd

Key Points

• JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd trimmed its Apple stake by 14.6% in Q3, selling 7,650 shares and leaving it with 44,738 shares valued at about $11.39 million.
• Apple beat Q‑reporting estimates with $1.85 EPS versus $1.74 expected and $102.47 billion in revenue, and it recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.26 (annualized $1.04, ~0.4% yield).
• Several analysts have raised price targets (e.g., BofA to $320, JPMorgan to $305) and the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $283.62, even as the stock traded down roughly 3.5% to $246.70.

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,738 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,650 shares during the period. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $11,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,415,932,804 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $290,506,933,000 after purchasing an additional 15,141,995 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $123,358,461,000 after acquiring an additional 5,224,229 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $72,506,336,000 after buying an additional 4,942,638 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 573,627.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $39,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 205,656,808 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,942,255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $246.70 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $270.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.55. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $283.36 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is integrating Google’s Gemini into Siri, which should materially improve Apple’s voice/AI capabilities and enhance product competitiveness. With Gemini Powering Apple's Siri, Alphabet Could Soon Be the Undisputed AI Leader
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore reiterated an Outperform/Buy stance with a $330 price target, highlighting upside into Apple’s upcoming earnings and the iPhone 17 cycle. Apple Stock (AAPL) Remains a Top Pick for Evercore Ahead of Q1 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Citi projects Apple will ship millions of $2,000 foldable iPhones this year, supporting potential upside in unit growth and higher ASPs if production scales. Apple will ship millions of $2,000 foldable iPhones this year: Citi
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman and other brokers are framing recent weakness as a buying opportunity ahead of January 29 earnings, citing strong iPhone revenue forecasts. ‘Buy the Dip,’ Says Goldman as Apple Pulls Back on Near-Term Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm-level notes and letters point to Apple’s Q4 rebound and improved China smartphone share, which support fundamentals but are already priced into some analyst models. Apple (AAPL) Continued to Rebound in Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risk: tech stocks led a selloff after renewed Trump rhetoric around Greenland/tariffs, hitting Apple with broad Magnificent Seven weakness despite company-specific positives. America's Biggest Tech Stocks Lead Tuesday's Selloff as Trump's Greenland Rhetoric Rattles Markets
• Negative Sentiment: Despite analyst upgrades, traders sold AAPL — a disconnect highlighted by coverage noting a near‑3% intraday slide amid risk-off positioning. Apple stock tumbles nearly 3% despite analyst upgrade: here's why
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory watch: an important antitrust date in India (Jan. 27) adds near‑term uncertainty that could affect services and distribution in a key market. Dear Apple Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for January 27
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary (e.g., 24/7 Wall St.) warns Apple could underperform peers this year, which may deepen sentiment-driven selling if momentum fades. This Magnificent 7 Stock Will Plunge This Year

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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