Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

Key Points

• The New Mexico Educational Retirement Board has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 2.5%, now owning approximately 701,864 shares valued at $155.9 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently increased their positions in Apple, with notable boosts from GAMMA Investing LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have mixed perspectives on Apple stock, with an average target price of $237.37 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 701,864 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 17,800 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 5.6% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings, making the stock its largest position. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in Apple were worth $155,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after acquiring an additional 59,835,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 23,555.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

AAPL stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $232.14. The stock had a trading volume of 39,382,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,935,340. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $215.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.37.

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.