Sovran Advisors LLC Grows Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sovran Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 101,559 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,335 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.4% of Sovran Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Sovran Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $27,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.2% in the second quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,920 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 8,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted 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 valued at $363,256,000 after purchasing an additional 465,393 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple will move some Mac Mini production from Asia to a Foxconn facility in Houston and expand U.S. assembly capacity — a step toward reshoring that reduces geopolitical/supply risk and supports business continuity (production expected to begin later this year). Apple To Move Part Of Mac Mini Production To Texas, Expand Houston Facility
• Positive Sentiment: Broader push to onshore chip and assembly work: WSJ/Reuters coverage shows Apple spearheading U.S. chip and supplier buildouts — this improves long-term supply security for Apple silicon but implies higher capex and longer payback. Investors see this as strategic insurance versus concentration in Asia. Apple Plans to Manufacture Mac Mini in Houston
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming product event (March 4) is expected to include multiple launches — reports cite iPhone 17E, lower‑priced MacBooks and an iPad with M4 — creating a near-term demand/catalyst runway that traders are pricing in. Apple Could Launch at Least Five New Products, Including iPhone 17E, Next Week
• Positive Sentiment: Street support remains solid: several firms maintain buy/outperform views and the median 6‑month target sits well above current levels — bolstering sentiment even as the market debates AI timing. Apple to Build Mac Mini in Houston — What It Means for AAPL Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Research and commentary suggest Apple may be less exposed to an AI “bubble” than pure‑play AI names, but Apple’s AI features (Siri/Apple Intelligence) have seen delays — a mixed impact on valuation versus execution risk. New Research Says: Apple Could Be Safe From AI Bubble Fears
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling and uneven institutional repositioning have been reported (multiple senior insider sales and mixed hedge fund moves), which can weigh on sentiment if sustained. Apple Stock (AAPL) Opinions on AI Wearables Development
• Negative Sentiment: Critiques around Apple’s slower AI rollout (and headlines calling the strategy “lazy”) keep a portion of investors cautious about near‑term growth versus competitors aggressively spending on AI infrastructure. How Apple’s Lazy AI Strategy Could Crush the Competition

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.13.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $266.18 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $264.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $258.44. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. The company has a market cap of $3.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current 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 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 payout ratio is currently 13.15%.

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.