Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Rather & Kittrell Inc.

Rather & Kittrell Inc. increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 22.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,427 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 0.6% of Rather & Kittrell Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Rather & Kittrell Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 8.0% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 373,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $95,168,000 after buying an additional 27,566 shares during the period. Phoenix Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Apple by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors now owns 33,724 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,529 shares during the period. YCG LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. YCG LLC now owns 228,202 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $58,107,000 after acquiring an additional 22,444 shares in the last quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 146,315 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $37,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,254 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 135,113 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,404,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of AAPL opened at $275.50 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $267.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $255.17. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be 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 is Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Trending Headlines about Apple

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Maxim Group raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.13.

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.