Gradient Investments LLC Buys 24,728 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Gradient Investments raised its Apple stake by 5.1%, buying 24,728 shares to hold 506,680 shares worth $137.746 million, making AAPL its 5th‑largest holding (~2.2% of its portfolio).
• Other large institutions also increased exposure—Vanguard, State Street and Northern Trust added millions of shares—leaving institutional investors with about 67.73% of Apple stock.
• Wall Street’s consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $297.58 average price target; bullish catalysts include anticipated 2026 product launches, AI hires and services growth, while broader tech weakness and reports about the Mac Pro pose downside risks.

Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 506,680 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 24,728 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.2% of Gradient Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $137,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,415,932,804 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $290,506,933,000 after purchasing an additional 15,141,995 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $123,358,461,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224,229 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.4% during 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 period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Phillip Securities raised Apple from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Maxim Group upgraded shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $297.58.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush says 2026 could be a significant product year and raises upside potential (they reiterate Outperform and a $350 target), framing WWDC and AI-driven hardware as major catalysts. Apple in focus as Wedbush calls 2026 a 'significant' product launch year ahead of WWDC
• Positive Sentiment: Apple hired ex-Google executive Lilian Rincon as VP of product marketing for AI — a concrete senior hire to accelerate Siri/AI positioning and marketing. Apple hires ex-Google executive to head AI marketing amid push to improve Siri
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple will open Siri to rival AI assistants (Gemini, Claude, etc.) in iOS 27 — this pivot can broaden iPhone AI capabilities without Apple building everything in‑house. Apple Plans to Open Up Siri to Rival AI Assistants in iOS 27 Update
• Positive Sentiment: Services continue to grow (reported ~14% y/y, Apple TV and gaming aiding strength) — recurring high‑margin revenue supports earnings upside even if hardware cycles lag. Strong Streaming & Game Content Aids Apple's Services: What's Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple expands U.S. manufacturing program, adding Bosch, Cirrus Logic, TDK and Qnity and committing $400M — reduces supply‑chain risk and supports domestic sourcing narrative. Apple adds Bosch, Cirrus Logic, others to US manufacturing program, to invest $400 million
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is granting rare large stock bonuses to iPhone designers to curb talent departures to AI firms — a retention step to protect future product execution. Apple Drops Six Figure Bonuses To Stop iPhone Talent Exodus
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst tweak: Erste trimmed FY2027 EPS slightly — minimal change to consensus, but worth watching for estimate revisions. Apple Inc. analyst note (Erste Group) via MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Steve Wozniak publicly criticizes AI and says he hardly uses it — a reputational/PR datapoint but unlikely to move fundamentals. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak admits he’s ‘disappointed a lot’ by AI and hardly uses it
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech sector weakness — Nasdaq slide, Meta legal losses and geopolitical worries are pressuring tech stocks, which is dragging AAPL despite company‑specific positives. Tech stocks suffer worst week in nearly a year, driven down by war worries, Meta legal woes
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and abandoned future updates could concern pro users and niche revenue, though impact on total revenue is limited. Apple reportedly discontinues Mac Pro, abandons plans for future updates

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $248.80 on Friday. 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 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $260.24 and a 200-day moving average of $262.47.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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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