Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its Apple stake by 0.5% in the first quarter, but still held 3.42 million shares valued at about $867.9 million. Apple remained its second-largest holding and made up 4.4% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Apple shares were up 3.5% and trading near their 52-week high, with the stock opening at $333.02. The company also reported strong quarterly results earlier this year, beating EPS and revenue estimates.
• Sentiment around Apple remains mixed: analysts have been mostly bullish, with several firms raising or reaffirming price targets, while some reports flagged valuation concerns and insider selling ahead of earnings.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,419,865 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 17,197 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.4% of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Apple were worth $867,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford said it will embed Apple Maps into upcoming EVs, expanding Apple’s software reach and reinforcing the value of its ecosystem. Ford Embeds Apple Maps Directly into Upcoming EVs
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Apple and reiterated an Outperform rating, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Apple as outperforming the broader market, supported by strong ratings and a favorable chart setup ahead of earnings. Why is Apple stock outperforming the broader market?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also the subject of discussion around upcoming product launches, AI features, and a possible device-leasing program, which could support demand but remain unconfirmed or longer-term in nature.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted concerns that Apple’s valuation is stretched heading into earnings, and insider sales plus short-interest chatter may temper enthusiasm if results disappoint.

Apple Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $333.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $279.01. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $334.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. KGI Securities cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Maxim Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.40.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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