California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 1,347,868 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,295,171 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,347,868 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.4% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.24% of Apple worth $8,987,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 37.9% during the third quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 95,238 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $24,250,000 after purchasing an additional 26,195 shares during the period. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the third quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. now owns 51,649 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,151,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Alight Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 185.7% in the third quarter. Alight Capital Management LP now owns 100,000 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,463,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC now owns 976,639 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $248,682,000 after purchasing an additional 25,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkos Global Advisors grew its holdings in Apple by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arkos Global Advisors now owns 16,956 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. CLSA boosted their price target on Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Maxim Group raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.58.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new low-cost devices (MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e) broaden addressable market and could win share versus cheaper Windows/Chromebooks — a strategic growth lever even if it pressures near-term margins. How Apple’s new low-cost MacBook Neo may shake up the market
• Positive Sentiment: Early Formula 1 ratings for AppleTV’s exclusive U.S. stream were strong, supporting the thesis that exclusive sports/content deals can grow Services subscriptions and engagement over time. Apple Gets Early Formula 1 Ratings Win
• Positive Sentiment: India’s plan to roll fresh smartphone manufacturing incentives could help Apple expand local production and improve margin/market access over the medium term. India plans fresh incentives for phone production
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed: a few firms raised targets or reiterated buys while others stay cautious/neutral; median price targets remain above the market, keeping a longer-term bullish backdrop but no unanimous near-term catalyst. Apple Stock Opinions on Tech Sector Pullback
• Negative Sentiment: Apple cut its mainland China App Store commission to 25% (and mini-app fees to 12%) after regulator talks — good for developer relations but a direct hit to Services take-rate and near-term revenue in its second‑largest market. Apple cuts China App Store commission fees after government pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Strong insider selling and social/board chatter about a tech pullback and China demand risks are weighing on sentiment — traders are highlighting technical weakness and short-term bearish views. Apple Stock Opinions on Tech Sector Pullback
• Negative Sentiment: Macro and supply‑chain risks (memory/storage cost inflation and geopolitical disruption tied to the Iran war) could raise component costs and compress device margins if Apple absorbs price moves to hold consumer prices. The Iran War Could Upend AI. Here’s How.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $250.12 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $262.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

About Apple

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.