HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 15.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 392,394 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,506 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.2% of HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $101,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its stake in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Stores Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bull case: multiple firms lifted targets and reiterations point to upside from iPhone strength, services growth and potential AI monetization in 2026 — some price targets sit well above the current price, supporting a constructive view. Why Apple Might Attract More of an AI Multiple in 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Buybacks & revenue outlook: Apple’s large 2025 buyback program and guidance point to improving EPS and a return to stronger revenue growth into fiscal 2026, which supports valuation and long‑term upside. Apple Is Likely to Return to Double-Digit Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Options & range trading: Traders note AAPL has been rangebound; some market participants are generating income via selling out‑of‑the‑money puts (a neutral/constructive tactical trade if you expect limited near‑term downside). Shorting Puts Is The Best Play
• Neutral Sentiment: AI rotation theme: Market commentary highlights a shift from AI infrastructure to application‑layer winners; Apple is positioned as a distribution‑first player but is viewed as a later AI monetizer rather than an early infrastructure spender. The Application-Layer Rotation
• Negative Sentiment: Siri/AI execution concerns: Reporting says Apple missed a planned Siri generative‑AI update and faces perceptions of lagging rivals — this heightens investor worry that Apple must deliver compelling AI features to drive upgrades and multiple expansion. Apple needs to deliver an AI-charged Siri
• Negative Sentiment: Cautionary research and insider/large‑holder selling: Critical takes argue limited near‑term growth, and reporting shows significant sales by insiders and reductions by Berkshire/Buffett — both can weigh on sentiment and create selling pressure. The 76-Year-Old Reason Why Buffett Has Been Selling Apple & QuiverQuant insider/flow summary
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish/valuation concerns: Some articles warn limited upside near term and urge caution on growth expectations given heavy competition in AI and elevated multiples. Apple: Don’t Expect Much Growth Here

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $283.36 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

AAPL stock opened at $273.00 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.