Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,133,236 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,029 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.4% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Apple were worth $238,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its position in Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC raised its position in Apple by 100.6% during the fourth quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 83,965 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $229.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $223.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.14. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Maxim Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.27.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.