Retirement Planning Group LLC Purchases 55,801 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Retirement Planning Group LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 44.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 180,891 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,801 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.6% of Retirement Planning Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Retirement Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $46,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. grew its holdings in Apple by 13.2% during 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. boosted 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 worth $13,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,920 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,107,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.2% in the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $101,301,000 after purchasing an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens set a $315.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. Phillip Securities raised Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.70.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and CEO optimism reinforce growth thesis — Apple reported stronger‑than‑expected revenue and iPhone sales, and recent coverage highlights positive messages from Tim Cook that helped lift investor confidence. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts reiterate bullish stances and high targets — firms including Evercore and Wedbush have kept Outperform/Outweight calls and some high price targets, supporting the view that upside remains despite a choppy tech tape. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market narrative favors Apple’s cautious AI stance — several pieces credit Apple’s measured spending on AI (versus heavy, early AI bets) with making it a relative winner amid the recent tech selloff. That rotation into quality helps justify the stock’s resilience. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: EU signals lower regulatory risk for Apple Ads/Maps — the European Commission said Apple Ads and Maps need not be designated under the Digital Markets Act, reducing potential regulatory constraints in the region. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: Manning & Napier added to its Apple stake — small but supportive signal that some managers are adding exposure. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Memory‑chip shortage poses a mixed picture — a global memory supply squeeze could push iPhone prices higher (supporting revenue/margins) but risks dampening demand if Apple passes costs to consumers. Monitor pricing vs. unit trends and margin guidance. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Partner/AI dynamics remain opaque — Alphabet declined to discuss its AI arrangement with Apple on an earnings call, leaving some questions about how Apple sources large‑model capabilities for Siri and services. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling and institutional flows are mixed — data aggregators show notable insider sales over the past year and large institutional rebalances; these are worth watching but not an immediate directional signal. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple scaled back its AI health‑coach project (code‑named Mulberry) — winding down the initiative highlights the challenge of converting health tracking into a paid service and is a setback for wearables/services expansion. That raises questions about near‑term services monetization from health AI. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish takes remind investors of valuation and execution risks — some analysts and independent bear cases point to stretched multiples and potential headwinds (AI execution, saturation in some hardware lines). These perspectives could cap upside until growth proof accumulates. Read More.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $275.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $268.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.17. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.

About Apple

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.