Old Port Advisors Purchases 2,476 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Old Port Advisors increased its stake in Apple by 7.2% in Q4, buying 2,476 shares to hold 36,648 shares valued at about $9.96 million, making Apple 2.4% of its portfolio and its third-largest position.
• Apple recently beat quarterly earnings expectations (EPS $2.84 vs. $2.67) with revenue up 15.7% year-over-year, and Wall Street's consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $297.58 while the stock trades near $248.80.

Old Port Advisors raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,476 shares during the period. Apple comprises 2.4% of Old Port Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Old Port Advisors' holdings in Apple were worth $9,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Monarch Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 4.6% during the second quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,740,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $101,301,000 after acquiring an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $363,256,000 after acquiring an additional 465,393 shares during the period. Finally, Tufton Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. CLSA boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $325.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $297.58.

Apple Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of AAPL opened at $248.80 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $260.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.47. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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 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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