Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,038,870 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 28,529 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 3.3% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Apple were worth $218,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Apple by 7.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,369,852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474,887 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 29,515,371 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,061,296,000 after purchasing an additional 485,873 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Apple by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 20,008,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,214,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,359,409 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 16.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,993,042 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,085,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,247,950 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,951,297,000 after purchasing an additional 415,186 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Apple to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.27.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $235.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.68, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

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.