Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 81,951 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Ohio’s public employee pension system reduced its Apple stake by 1.3%, selling 81,951 shares during the first quarter. It still held 6.21 million shares worth approximately $1.58 billion, making Apple its second-largest holding and 5.1% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported a strong latest quarter, with EPS of $2.02 beating estimates and revenue rising 16.4% year over year to $109.42 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $330.44.
• Investor sentiment faces mixed signals: an orderly CEO transition and resilient core businesses support the stock, while rising costs, slower Services growth, legal uncertainty involving OpenAI and increasing hardware competition pose risks.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,206,703 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 81,951 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.1% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Apple were worth $1,575,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planned CEO transition appears orderly. Tim Cook will step down in September and be succeeded by longtime Apple executive John Ternus, a veteran with experience dating back to the Steve Jobs era. Cook’s endorsement and Ternus’ familiarity with Apple’s products may reduce concerns about strategic disruption. Tim Cook Says There’s ‘No Better Person’ to Take Over at Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Core business momentum remains strong. Apple’s latest quarter exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up roughly 16% year over year. Broad iPhone, Mac and Services demand continues to support the bullish case. Tim Cook's Last Quarter as CEO Was Apple's Best June Quarter Ever
• Positive Sentiment: App Store monetization is holding up. App Store revenue increased slightly despite a 4% decline in iPhone and iPad downloads, as revenue per download rose 4.7%. This suggests continued pricing and engagement resilience in a key Services business. Apple App Store Revenue Ticks Up Despite Falling Downloads
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is seeking dismissal of Apple’s trade-secrets lawsuit. OpenAI denies misappropriating confidential information related to Apple’s consumer-hardware efforts. The filing does not resolve the dispute, leaving legal and competitive uncertainty in place. OpenAI Seeks Dismissal of Apple's Trade Secrets Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term cost and growth pressures are weighing on sentiment. Rising memory prices, supply constraints and policy risks could pressure margins, while slower Services growth has prompted some firms to downgrade Apple to Hold or Moderate Sell. Apple's Capex Strategy Worked But Other Pressures Are Mounting
• Negative Sentiment: Competition in emerging hardware is increasing. Samsung reported a 30% rise in foldable-device preorders, highlighting a market Apple has yet to enter. Investors may view future Apple foldables as an opportunity, but execution and timing remain uncertain. Samsung Foldable Preorders Jump 30%

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. DZ Bank lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Apple from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. China Renaissance downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $330.44.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $313.33 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $219.25 and a twelve month high of $344.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Apple's payout ratio is 12.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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