ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 21.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,637 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,553 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.5% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $257.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $263.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.46. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.58.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its street-high price target to $350, arguing Apple’s AI-capable Macs and refreshed product cycle could unlock ~33% upside — a clear bullish signal for investors. Wedbush $350 target
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators highlight Apple’s AI approach (hardware + Google Gemini partnership) as a profitability-focused alternative to the capex-heavy AI race — narrative supports margins and services monetization. AAPL Not Running AI Race Paying Off? iPhone & Google Gemini Add Tech Muscle
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s exclusive U.S. Formula 1 streaming deal for Apple TV expands services revenue and engagement — a structural positive for recurring revenue and ecosystem stickiness. Formula 1 and Apple’s big gamble
• Positive Sentiment: The MacBook Neo ($599) and entry-level iPhone broaden addressable market (students and price-sensitive buyers), which could modestly increase unit volumes and services attach over time. Apple Slashes Entry Price With MacBook Neo
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller analyst moves: Rosenblatt nudged its PT slightly and Barclays revised targets in recent notes — these are incremental but keep the debate active on upside scope. Rosenblatt/Benzinga note
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains a staple in dividend-growth ETFs (e.g., DGRO), reinforcing long-term passive demand even amid short-term volatility. DGRO / Market context
• Negative Sentiment: Some outlets reported an immediate share pullback after the budget-product announcements (concerns about margin dilution and the market’s rotation away from expensive Big Tech/AI spenders). That knee-jerk selling contributed to intraday weakness. Apple stock slid after MacBook Neo
• Negative Sentiment: Wider market pressure on AI-capex-heavy names and headlines about “Big Tech” valuation compression mean Apple can be caught up in sector moves even as company-specific fundamentals remain strong. Big Tech valuation rotation
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in some feeds showed a spike but the reports contain inconsistent values (0 shares / NaN) — treat that as likely reporting noise rather than evidence of a large coordinated short. (No reliable source link available in the feed.)

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.