Rathbones Group PLC Raises Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC raised its Apple stake by 0.6% in Q4 to 3,151,569 shares (an additional 19,519 shares), worth about $856.8 million and representing roughly 2.7% of its portfolio as its 8th largest holding.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Moderate Buy" on AAPL with a consensus target of $303.06, and the stock is trading up as investors eye the April 30 earnings print as a possible catalyst.
• Insiders trimmed positions under pre‑arranged plans: CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares and SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 30,002 shares on April 2, modestly reducing their holdings.

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,151,569 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 19,519 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.7% of Rathbones Group PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Apple were worth $856,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Overbrook Management Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $28,449,000 after buying an additional 38,174 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $101,301,000 after buying an additional 8,446 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in 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 valued at $363,256,000 after acquiring an additional 465,393 shares in the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 734,485 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $187,022,000 after purchasing an additional 27,445 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their target price on Apple from $239.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $303.06.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broad tech appetite and upbeat corporate earnings are lifting market sentiment, helping AAPL rebound as the Nasdaq and S&P hit records. Nasdaq, S&P 500 Notch Peaks as Earnings Fuel Optimism
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts view Apple’s upcoming April 30 print as a possible “clearing event” that could reset narrative and drive the next leg higher if results and guidance beat — a reason some investors are buying into the leadership transition. Why April 30 Could Be a ‘Clearing Event’ for Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple officially named long‑time hardware chief John Ternus as CEO (Tim Cook to become executive chairman). The move signals continuity and a product/hardware focus but is arguably neutral near term as investors evaluate Ternus’s ability to accelerate AI strategy. Apple Newsroom: Tim Cook to Become Executive Chairman; John Ternus to Become CEO
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple promoted Johny Srouji and consolidated hardware teams, underscoring a faster push on in‑house silicon — a structural positive for margins and product differentiation, but execution risk remains. Apple Promotes Chip Lead Srouji
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple pushed a security update fixing a message‑caching bug used by law enforcement — minor reputational/security positive but unlikely to move fundamentals. Apple fixes bug that cops used to extract deleted chat messages
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and data (Sensor Tower) flagged slowing Services growth and potential hardware bottlenecks; UBS has reiterated a Neutral rating and a $280 target — a reminder that Apple’s growth runway depends on resolving AI/services momentum and supply constraints. Is Slowing Services Growth and Hardware Bottleneck a Problem for Apple?
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual put option activity ahead of earnings suggests some investors are hedging or positioning for downside volatility into April 30 — elevated tails around the print increase short‑term risk. Apple Has Unusual Put Options Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Some funds have trimmed Apple exposure (recent active stake reductions reported), a small signal of profit‑taking or tactical repositioning after the run‑up. Manitou Investment Management Cuts Apple Stake

Insider Activity at Apple

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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 shares were 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. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $273.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.53, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $264.40. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.25 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's 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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