Arizona State Retirement System Sells 167,181 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its Apple stake by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 167,181 shares. After the sale, Apple remained its second-largest holding, valued at about $1.14 billion.
• Apple’s latest earnings were strong, with Q4 EPS of $2.01 beating estimates and revenue rising 16.6% year over year to $111.18 billion. The company also reported high profitability, including a 146.69% return on equity.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Apple, with analysts assigning an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $308.74. Insider selling has also continued, including recent share sales by CFO Kevan Parekh and SVP Deirdre O’Brien.

Arizona State Retirement System decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,194,593 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 167,181 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 6.2% of Arizona State Retirement System's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Apple were worth $1,140,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 15.7% during the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $296.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.74.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $308.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $311.40. The company has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.06. The business's fifty day moving average is $269.64 and its 200 day moving average is $268.63.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. 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%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Apple Company 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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