Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $146.59 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 714,491 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,853 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.2% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Apple were worth $146,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $270.37 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.03, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $277.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $248.34 and a 200-day moving average of $222.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. CLSA raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.39.

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.