Payne Capital Management LLC Purchases 3,247 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Payne Capital Management LLC raised its Apple position by 31.2% in Q3, buying 3,247 shares to hold 13,640 shares worth about $3.47M, making Apple ~1.1% of its portfolio and its 18th-largest holding.
• Several large institutions (including Norges Bank, Nuveen and Northern Trust) have also added or increased stakes, and institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Positive catalysts highlighted include a ~23% jump in iPhone sales in China early in 2026 and about $900M in AI-related App Store revenue last year, supporting both hardware and high-margin services growth.

Payne Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 31.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,640 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 3,247 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 1.1% of Payne Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Payne Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $3,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Apple by 98,917.0% in the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,106,000 after purchasing an additional 57,898,088 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: China strength: iPhone sales in China jumped ~23% in the first nine weeks of 2026, outpacing a weak local market and supporting Apple's revenue and unit growth prospects in a key market. Apple's China smartphone sales jump 23%
• Positive Sentiment: Product demand: Apple’s Mac had its best-ever launch week for first-time customers, signaling continued strength in Mac demand that can help hardware revenue mix. Apple Mac sees best ever launch week
• Positive Sentiment: Legal win on Apple Watch: A U.S. trade tribunal preliminarily ruled redesigned Apple Watches don’t infringe Masimo patents, fending off a renewed import ban and removing a regulatory/shutdown risk for Watch shipments. Apple Watch clears key patent challenge
• Positive Sentiment: AI/App Store monetization: Reporting suggests Apple made ~$900M from AI-related App Store activity last year and could top $1B soon — a recurring, high-margin revenue stream that supports services growth. Apple made $900M from AI
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO outreach: Tim Cook’s China visit reinforces focus on local partnerships and regulatory navigation — positive strategically but not an immediate earnings catalyst. Tim Cook's China visit
• Neutral Sentiment: New integrations and content deals (Apple Health integrations, Apple TV sports/content deals) expand ecosystem stickiness but their near-term revenue impact is uncertain. Apple Health integrates with Perplexity Health
• Negative Sentiment: Security risk: Researchers flagged the "DarkSword" iOS exploit and related spyware/ghostblade campaigns targeting crypto wallets; Apple has issued alerts and pushed patches — security scares can dent consumer confidence and spur short-term churn or support costs. DarkSword iPhone exploit threatens wallets
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment and positioning: Some AI-driven price models are bearish for Q2 and there’s visible insider selling and mixed analyst positioning — these contribute to short-term selling pressure. AI sets Apple stock price for Q2 2026

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $247.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average price is $260.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.97. The company has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $297.58.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.