Silvant Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Silvant Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 852,692 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,959 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 7.5% of Silvant Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Silvant Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $217,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 41.0% in the second quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Tim Cook publicly dismissed retirement rumors and reinforced his commitment to Apple’s roadmap and upcoming AI milestones, reducing leadership uncertainty that had weighed on sentiment. Tim Cook squashes retirement rumors, says he ‘can’t imagine life without Apple’
• Positive Sentiment: Product refreshes: Apple unveiled AirPods Max 2 with upgraded features (H2 chip, improved ANC, live translation), and expanded its MacBook lineup with M5 chips — news that supports hardware revenue and drew an Evercore reaffirmation of Outperform. Apple unveils second-generation AirPods Max at $549, more than five years after debut
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic M&A: Apple acquired MotionVFX, a Final Cut Pro plugin maker, strengthening its creator tools and services ecosystem — a move that can help services/subscriptions monetization for pro users. Apple acquires video editing software company MotionVFX
• Positive Sentiment: Brand extensions: Beats launched Nike?branded earbuds in a first hardware collaboration, showing continued diversification of accessory demand and co?branding opportunities. Apple’s Beats Launches Nike?Branded Earbuds in Its First?Ever Hardware Collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/market flows: A broader shift of investor interest toward value ETFs (amid geopolitical uncertainty) is altering sector flows; not Apple?specific but can affect relative demand for large growth names. 2 ETFs Have Similar Names. Their Performances Couldn’t Be More Different.
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply?chain & supplier notes: Nvidia/Samsung foundry news and Foxconn’s mixed results keep focus on Apple’s manufacturing partners — potential upside if foundry capacity and iPhone assembly remain robust, but margins/supply risks persist. Samsung shares rise after Nvidia’s Huang flags tie-up on new AI chips
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest notices in March appear inconsistent/immaterial in the data reported and are unlikely to be a driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/operational criticism: Elon Musk publicly called iOS app?review delays “ridiculous,” reigniting debate about App Store policy and developer friction — a potential negative for developer relations and platform perception. Elon Musk Has One Word for This Apple Problem: ‘Ridiculous’
• Negative Sentiment: Relative performance pressure: Coverage noting Apple has lagged some peers (Magnificent 7 commentary) underscores investor concerns about AI leadership and near?term growth vs. names like Nvidia, which can cap multiple expansion. NVIDIA Leads Magnificent 7 Stocks in March while Apple and Tesla Slide

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of AAPL opened at $254.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $261.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.04. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 2.26 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. 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. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Apple from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.58.

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.