Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Boosted by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,444,197 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 18,122 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.5% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,322,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $256.69 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $233.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.49.

Apple 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.