Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Arizona State Retirement System's Largest Position

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,427,210 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 235,234 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 6.8% of Arizona State Retirement System's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Apple were worth $1,108,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $1,097,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 108,247 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $27,107,000 after buying an additional 19,239 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 196,479 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $49,202,000 after buying an additional 10,011 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 70,415 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $17,633,000 after buying an additional 13,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVZ Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 24,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,099,000 after buying an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $211.45. 43,910,127 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,930,688. The business's 50-day moving average price is $206.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.99. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.80.

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.