Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Raised by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,105,779 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,779 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.2% of Employees Retirement System of Texas’ portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Apple were worth $443,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,160,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,807 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,909,457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245,281 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,369,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,887 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,291,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 29,515,371 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,061,296,000 after purchasing an additional 485,873 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $224.23 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $226.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.06. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 412,746 shares of company stock valued at $93,021,362. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cfra lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.51.

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.