Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $193.76 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 773,738 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 62,227 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.2% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Apple were worth $193,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $77,542,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after acquiring an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 25,285.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 9,628,864 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,411,260,000 after acquiring an additional 9,590,933 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded down $0.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $199.01. 70,744,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,229,633. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $203.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 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 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.