Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Boosted by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 725,203 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 10,712 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.9% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Apple were worth $184,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $276.47 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.13.

Apple Trading Down 5.0%

Apple stock opened at $261.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $288.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $267.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results and continued iPhone strength, which underpins revenue and margin resilience. Here’s Why Apple’s Stock Dropped 5% Today
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its price target and bullish analyst notes highlight Apple’s AI roadmap and services upside, offering a longer-term constructive view. Sanford C. Bernstein Raises Apple Price Target to $340.00
• Positive Sentiment: Apple bought full rights to the hit show “Severance” and will produce future seasons in-house — a strategic push for Apple TV+ that can boost content control and margins long term. Apple acquires all rights to Severance, will produce future seasons in-house
• Neutral Sentiment: Vision Pro added YouTube, which improves platform utility, but VR demand is reported to be cooling — a mixed signal for device adoption and services monetization. Apple’s Vision Pro Gets YouTube, but VR Demand Keeps Sliding
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple’s major Siri AI upgrade has run into testing problems and will be delayed, undermining near-term AI momentum and stoking investor concern about execution. Apple has worst day since April as company faces FTC scrutiny, Siri delay reports
• Negative Sentiment: The FTC has publicly raised concerns about alleged bias in Apple News and asked CEO Tim Cook to review curation policies, adding regulatory risk and political headlines that can pressure shares. US FTC airs concerns over allegations that Apple suppresses right-wing content on Apple News
• Negative Sentiment: Wider market AI fears and reports that investors are marking down Apple’s valuation led to an estimated ~$200B market-cap hit as funds rotate away from megacap AI exposure. Apple sees $200 billion market-cap wipeout as stock slides on AI fears

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.