Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 511,176 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,867,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 511,176 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.7% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,313,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd 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 during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 41.0% in the second quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Maxim Group upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.07.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New MacBook Air/Pro lineup with M5 chips and revamped Studio Displays reinforces Apple’s device?level AI strategy and supports higher ASPs and services attachment. Apple launches new generation of MacBook laptops
• Positive Sentiment: Apple introduced a lower?cost iPhone 17e (starting $599) and upgraded iPad Air, which should help defend share in price?sensitive markets and broaden upgrade cycles. Apple launches iPhone 17e
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America keeps a Buy rating and $325 price target, citing sustained services momentum and device?level AI upside — a bullish analyst endorsement for medium?term upside. BofA maintains Buy on Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest data showed a reported large increase but the published figures read as 0 shares/NaN (days?to?cover 0.0) — likely a reporting glitch, so no clear bearish signal from short sellers at this time.
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target modestly (from $239 to $248) but kept an “underweight” rating — a mixed signal (higher PT but continued cautious stance). Barclays raises PT but stays underweight
• Negative Sentiment: Apple increased MacBook prices (Air up ~$100; Pro up more, some models +$400) as memory?chip shortages and rising component costs push up ASPs — this can boost near?term revenue but risks dampening unit demand and margin visibility. Apple raises MacBook prices amid chip shortage
• Negative Sentiment: Warren Buffett/Berkshire materially trimmed its Apple stake (reports say a ~75% sale in his final filings), a high?profile shareholder reduction that can amplify near?term selling pressure and sentiment risk. How Berkshire Hathaway performed during Buffett’s final quarter

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $263.75 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $264.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during 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%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend 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.