Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7,643.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,235,441 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,206,573 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.1% of Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $611,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at about $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Apple by 890.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after acquiring an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.59.

Apple Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $299.24 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $195.07 and a 1-year high of $317.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $287.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly preparing a major 2027 product push featuring camera-equipped AirPods, AI sunglasses, a foldable iPhone, and a 20th-anniversary iPhone, which could reignite hardware growth. Apple (AAPL) Plans Camera AirPods and a Foldable iPhone for 2027 in Major Product Push
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains upbeat after WWDC, with TD Cowen and Maxim reiterating bullish views and raising the price target, arguing Apple’s AI rollout is still in the early stages. Qualcomm Is Eyeing a Massive AI Pivot. Why Wall Street Is Still Cautious.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also encouraged by commentary that AI could strengthen Apple’s long-term bull case, since the company controls the device, operating system, and ecosystem where AI features will be delivered. AI Strengthens Apple (AAPL) Stock’s Bull Case
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s supplier Tata Electronics said India’s pollution board dropped scrutiny of its iPhone parts plant after contamination concerns were addressed, removing a near-term operational distraction. Tata says India pollution board drops scrutiny of Apple iPhone parts plant
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also facing a new Italy antitrust probe over cloud interoperability under the Digital Markets Act, which adds regulatory noise but is not yet a quantified financial hit. Italy’s antitrust regulator probes Apple over cloud services under Digital Market rules
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports say Apple was not fully able to meet investor expectations on AI at WWDC, and skepticism around near-term execution is weighing on sentiment. Here’s Why Apple Inc (AAPL) Is Falling Despite AI Advancements at WWDC 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is reportedly planning changes to its Hide My Email privacy feature, which could make anonymous sign-ups easier to block and may be viewed as a privacy tradeoff. Apple plans to change its Hide My Email privacy feature that could make it less effective

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.