Sierra Ocean LLC Acquires 2,451 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Sierra Ocean LLC increased its Apple stake by 25.7% in the third quarter, buying 2,451 shares to hold 11,984 shares worth about $3.05 million, making Apple 2.6% of its portfolio and its 11th-largest holding.
• Apple posted an earnings beat with $2.84 EPS vs. $2.67 expected and $143.76 billion in revenue (vs. $138.25 billion), representing 15.7% year-over-year revenue growth and a net margin of 27.04%.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive — MarketBeat shows a consensus of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $297.58, while individual targets range as high as $350.

Sierra Ocean LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 25.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,984 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.6% of Sierra Ocean LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Sierra Ocean LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $3,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 5,718 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Aspetuck Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aspetuck Financial Management LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,507,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Boyer National Bank boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the second quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Moffett Nathanson increased their price target on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $297.58.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its street-high price target to $350, arguing Apple’s AI-capable Macs and refreshed product cycle could unlock ~33% upside — a clear bullish signal for investors. Wedbush $350 target
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators highlight Apple’s AI approach (hardware + Google Gemini partnership) as a profitability-focused alternative to the capex-heavy AI race — narrative supports margins and services monetization. AAPL Not Running AI Race Paying Off? iPhone & Google Gemini Add Tech Muscle
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s exclusive U.S. Formula 1 streaming deal for Apple TV expands services revenue and engagement — a structural positive for recurring revenue and ecosystem stickiness. Formula 1 and Apple's big gamble
• Positive Sentiment: The MacBook Neo ($599) and entry-level iPhone broaden addressable market (students and price-sensitive buyers), which could modestly increase unit volumes and services attach over time. Apple Slashes Entry Price With MacBook Neo
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller analyst moves: Rosenblatt nudged its PT slightly and Barclays revised targets in recent notes — these are incremental but keep the debate active on upside scope. Rosenblatt/Benzinga note
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains a staple in dividend-growth ETFs (e.g., DGRO), reinforcing long-term passive demand even amid short-term volatility. DGRO / Market context
• Negative Sentiment: Some outlets reported an immediate share pullback after the budget-product announcements (concerns about margin dilution and the market’s rotation away from expensive Big Tech/AI spenders). That knee-jerk selling contributed to intraday weakness. Apple stock slid after MacBook Neo
• Negative Sentiment: Wider market pressure on AI-capex-heavy names and headlines about “Big Tech” valuation compression mean Apple can be caught up in sector moves even as company-specific fundamentals remain strong. Big Tech valuation rotation
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in some feeds showed a spike but the reports contain inconsistent values (0 shares / NaN) — treat that as likely reporting noise rather than evidence of a large coordinated short. (No reliable source link available in the feed.)

Apple Stock Down 1.1%

Apple stock opened at $257.46 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $263.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued 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 (DPR) is 13.15%.

About Apple

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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