Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Reduces Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 23.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 634,373 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 194,851 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.9% of Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $161,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.2% during the second quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,920 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.2% in the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $101,301,000 after purchasing an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 48.4% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $363,256,000 after purchasing an additional 465,393 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is preparing a “game‑changer” iPhone—investors interpret new hardware cycles as a revenue/opportunity catalyst for iPhone upgrades. Apple is about to launch a ‘game-changer’ iPhone
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein and other outlets have lifted targets/outperform calls (Bernstein raised its target toward ~$340), citing a strong iPhone 17 cycle and Apple Intelligence — analyst upgrades increase buy-side conviction. Apple Stock To Rise Despite Memory Chip Crunch, Says Top Analyst— Hints At ‘Bigger Story’ Unfolding In 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore/other brokers reiterated Outperform/Buy ratings with elevated price targets (Evercore $330), reinforcing the analyst support behind the rally. Apple: Strong Fundamentals and AI Roadmap Underpin Outperform Rating and $330 Target
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate fundamentals showing strength — reports note rising free cash flow margins and continued buybacks/dividend distribution (quarterly $0.26 payment), which support valuation and shareholder returns. Apple’s FCF Margins Surge and Its Target Value Rises – What’s the Best AAPL Stock Play?
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: Fisher Asset Management increased its stake, a vote of confidence from a large manager. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Apple Stake by 704,293 Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: UK regulator engagement: Apple and Google agreed on app‑store changes to appease the UK regulator — reduces regulatory overhang but may require concessions. Apple and Google agree app store changes to appease UK regulator
• Neutral Sentiment: Bernstein and others flag a global memory‑chip crunch — a potential cost/headwind — but say upcoming product/AI catalysts could outweigh the supply‑side pressure. Apple Stock To Rise Despite Memory Chip Crunch, Says Top Analyst— Hints At ‘Bigger Story’ Unfolding In 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Software rollout issues: reports say the new Siri/iOS 26.5 features are not reliably functional in early tests — product software snags can dent user experience and slow feature monetization. Apple’s latest attempt to launch new Siri runs into snags
• Negative Sentiment: Morningstar Investment Management trimmed its Apple position sharply — a large manager reducing exposure can add downward pressure or signal profit‑taking. Morningstar Investment Management Cuts Apple Inc Position Sharply

Apple Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $275.50 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $288.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $267.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $255.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.13.

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.