Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,252,860 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 37,670 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 6.0% of Arizona State Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Apple were worth $895,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Verus Financial Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisory lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Financial Advisory now owns 1,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Lowery Thomas LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lowery Thomas LLC now owns 7,607 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,602,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its position in Apple by 1.1% during the second quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 4,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $186.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.27.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $236.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $226.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.86. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple Company Profile

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.