Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Has $177.34 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Braun Stacey Associates increased its Apple stake by 6.5% in Q4 to 652,301 shares valued at about $177.34 million, making Apple 5.7% of its portfolio and its second-largest holding.
• Apple announced an internal leadership transition—John Ternus to become CEO (Sept. 1) with Tim Cook moving to Executive Chairman and Johny Srouji promoted to Chief Hardware Officer—which prompted mixed market reactions, unusual put option activity ahead of earnings, and comes alongside an India antitrust probe that poses regulatory risk.
• Apple trades near $273 with a market cap of about $4.01 trillion and a P/E of ~34.5 after a recent earnings beat; insiders (including Tim Cook and Deirdre O’Brien) sold shares in early April, and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of roughly $301.33.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 652,301 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 39,673 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.7% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $177,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 6.4% in the third 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 lifted its stake in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted 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. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 15.7% during the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $273.05 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $189.81 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $259.68 and a 200-day moving average of $264.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Maxim Group raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $301.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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