Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,194,593 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 167,181 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 6.2% of Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,140,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $311,157,662,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005,297 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $123,358,461,000 after acquiring an additional 5,224,229 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $72,506,336,000 after acquiring an additional 4,942,638 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upped their target price on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $308.82 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $269.64 and a 200-day moving average of $268.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.46 and a 12-month high of $311.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.34, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

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.