Ascent Group LLC Raises Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its Apple stake by 1.5% in Q4, adding 4,419 shares to hold 292,896 shares valued at about $79.63 million, which represents roughly 2.7% of its portfolio and is its fourth-largest position.
• Insider selling: CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares for ~$16.5 million and SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 30,002 shares for ~$7.66 million, both executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans.
• Analyst and fundamentals snapshot: Apple has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $301.33 target after beating quarterly estimates (EPS $2.84 vs. $2.67; revenue $143.8B), trading at a P/E of ~34.5 and a market cap near $4.01 trillion.

Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 292,896 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 4,419 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.7% of Ascent Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $79,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. American Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Capstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,934,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $315.00 target price (down from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $301.33.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $273.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.52, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $259.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $264.28. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $189.81 and a 52-week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid 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 payout ratio is 13.15%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board-approved internal succession to John Ternus signals continuity and a hardware-first CEO who knows Apple’s product roadmap — could accelerate device and M-series hardware initiatives that drive revenue. Who is John Ternus, Apple's new CEO?
• Positive Sentiment: Immediate internal promotion of Johny Srouji to Chief Hardware Officer preserves engineering depth and reduces execution risk on chips and hardware — helpful given Apple’s silicon roadmap. Johny Srouji named Apple's Chief Hardware Officer
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media support remains: Goldman maintains a bullish $330 target ahead of earnings; Jim Cramer and some strategists highlight Apple’s AI and hardware advantages — these views can help underpin sentiment into earnings. Goldman Sachs Holds $330 Target
• Neutral Sentiment: The transition is staged for Sept. 1 with Tim Cook remaining CEO through the summer to work with Ternus — the runway reduces immediate operational disruption but extends the period of leadership uncertainty. Apple press release on CEO transition
• Neutral Sentiment: Near-term calendar: earnings after the close on April 30 remain the closest fundamental catalyst; leadership news may amplify volatility into the report. Apple's Q2 2026 Earnings: What to Expect
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction was mixed — reports show shares dipped in after-hours trading as some investors questioned whether a hardware-focused CEO can sustain Cook’s growth and margin track record. That uncertainty can pressure the stock near-term. VIEW Apple CEO Cook is lauded by investors
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk: Apple has withheld data in an India antitrust probe and faces possible large penalties there — a high‑impact regulatory overhang if the case escalates. Apple withholds data in India antitrust case
• Negative Sentiment: Options and positioning: unusual put activity ahead of earnings suggests some investors are hedging or betting on near-term downside around the combination of leadership news and the upcoming results. Apple Has Unusual Put Options Activity

Apple Company 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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