Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases New Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 5.85 million Apple shares worth approximately $1.69 billion, making Apple its second-largest holding and representing about 5% of its portfolio.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Apple carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $340.14, although ratings range from “Strong Buy” to “Sell.”
• Apple reported quarterly revenue of $109.42 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and earnings of $2.02 per share, exceeding analyst expectations; the company also maintains a $0.27 quarterly dividend.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,851,269 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,693,123,000. Apple accounts for about 5.0% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Advocate Investing Services LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the second quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC now owns 7,847 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,271,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore set a $380.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Citic Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.14.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.06, for a total transaction of $815,803.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 44,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,095,603.46. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,031 shares of company stock worth $3,535,759. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s renewed patent agreement with Qualcomm helps preserve access to important cellular technology and reduces uncertainty surrounding future iPhone launches. The deal also supports Qualcomm’s royalty stream tied to Apple devices. What Is Going on With Qualcomm Stock on Monday?
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is increasing orders for TSMC’s next-generation 2-nanometer chips point to continued investment in more powerful and efficient processors for future iPhones and other products. TSMC Ramps Up 2nm Chip Capacity as Apple, Nvidia Orders Jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo and premium-device strategy could lift revenue and expand its addressable market, but the roughly $2,000 price raises questions about demand beyond affluent early adopters. Apple’s Premium iPhone Strategy Faces a Test Beyond Early Adopters
• Neutral Sentiment: X Corp. and SpaceXAI reportedly moved to dismiss antitrust claims against Apple and OpenAI, removing one legal challenge, although other regulatory matters remain unresolved. Musk’s X Corp and SpaceXAI Drop Apple From AI Antitrust Fight
• Negative Sentiment: A U.S. jury ordered Apple to pay approximately $5.7 billion to Taction Technology for infringing patents covering haptic feedback used in products such as the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple denies wrongdoing and plans to appeal, but the potential liability is the largest U.S. patent award of its kind. Apple and Amazon Face Revived UK Consumer Lawsuit Over Product Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Britain’s Competition Appeal Tribunal revived part of a consumer case alleging that Apple and Amazon restricted competition for Apple products sold through Amazon’s U.K. marketplace. Apple also faces an expanded Indian investigation into alleged costly repairs following an iOS 18 software update, increasing potential legal and reputational risk. Apple and Amazon Face Revived UK Consumer Lawsuit Over Product Sales

Apple Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $338.40 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $321.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $298.18. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.42 and a 52-week high of $345.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.81, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

About Apple

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

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