Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Key Points

• The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stock holdings in Apple Inc. by 0.4%, now owning 1,050,236 shares, which makes Apple its biggest position, valued at approximately $233.29 million.
• Apple Inc. announced a $100 billion stock buyback plan, indicating that its board believes the shares may be undervalued.
• For the latest quarter, Apple reported earnings per share of $1.57, beating the consensus estimate and achieving revenue of $94.04 billion.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,050,236 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,621 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.4% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Apple were worth $233,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 7.0% in the first quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,308 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,914 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Enterprises LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 5.1% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Enterprises LLC now owns 40,142 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 5.6% in the first quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 463,601 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $102,980,000 after purchasing an additional 24,482 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the first quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 32,099 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,130,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elite Life Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the first quarter. Elite Life Management LLC now owns 5,855 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $2.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $229.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 41,781,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,888,410. The business's 50 day moving average is $207.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.60.

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.