Junto Capital Management LP Buys New Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 187,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $47,716,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Avant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $252.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $261.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $261.88. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $288.62. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 13.15%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple acquired MotionVFX, a maker of Final Cut Pro plugins and motion-graphics tools — a strategic tuck-in to bolster Final Cut Pro/creator ecosystem and subscription stickiness. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple unveiled the second-generation AirPods Max (H2 chip, improved ANC, Live Translation) at $549 — a premium product refresh that supports accessory revenue and services integration. Preorders and ASPs could help near-term revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports suggest Apple is using aggressive pricing on some new hardware (e.g., $599 MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e) to gain share — this could pressure rivals while expanding ecosystem reach and driving volume. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst note: Robert W. Baird reiterated a bullish stance, highlighting Apple’s durable ecosystem and services growth — supportive for long-term earnings but not an immediate catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons to Amazon and broader AI/tech narratives are circulating — useful context for relative valuation debates but not a direct Apple-specific driver. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Nvidia’s GTC and chip/AI momentum continue to dominate headlines; indirect implications for Apple include component demand and competitive AI feature expectations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is sliding relative to peers in March and is down from recent highs — momentum and sector rotation (Nvidia leadership) are weighing on sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Apple postponed its smart home display release — a product delay that could defer revenue and push back ecosystem expansion timelines. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported today appears anomalous/garbled (zeros/NaN); read-through on investor positioning is unclear — treat short-interest headline with caution.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Moffett Nathanson raised their target price on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. CLSA lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.58.

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.