Welch & Forbes LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,722,290 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 13,277 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 5.3% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $438,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,920 shares in the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 465,393 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is staging a “product week” with multiple announcements expected (AI-enabled wearables, low‑cost MacBook, new iPads, possible foldable iPhone and entry iPhone 17E). New hardware and AI features could drive device upgrades, services usage and longer‑term revenue upside. Apple Plans Week of Product Announcements
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlight Apple accelerating AI wearables (smart glasses, camera AirPods, AI pendant). Successful launches would broaden addressable market and reinforce Apple’s services/recurring revenue mix. Apple’s AI Wearables And Product Week Could Reshape Long Term Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The WSJ piece on Apple bringing more chip production in‑house (a “chip homecoming”) underscores Apple’s push for greater silicon control and supply resilience — a potential margin and product-differentiation tailwind. Apple’s Chip Homecoming
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and price targets remain mixed but generally positive: recent analyst moves (e.g., some target upgrades) and QuiverQuant discussion emphasize AI positioning and a median 6‑month target above current levels — supportive but not unanimous. Apple Stock Opinions on Low-Cost MacBook and AI Developments
• Neutral Sentiment: Anthropic’s Claude climbing Apple App Store charts highlights increased AI app demand on iOS — good for App Store traffic and potential services revenue, but indirect and short‑term. Anthropic’s Claude Tops Apple App Store Charts
• Negative Sentiment: Major institutional selling surfaced in 13F filings: Berkshire/Holdings moves show large reductions (reports say ~75% reduction from a major holder), and UBS AM disclosed removing a very large Apple position — headline selling from big holders can pressure near‑term price and investor sentiment. Warren Buffett Went Out With a Bang by Selling 75% of His Apple Stake
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider selling activity (multiple senior execs with recent sales) and heavy institutional rebalancing are being flagged by traders as a reason for caution even as fundamentals remain strong. Insider & Institutional Activity

Apple Trading Down 3.2%

AAPL opened at $264.18 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $264.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $259.59. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $288.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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 $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend 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

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $293.41.

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.