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

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,206,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 81,951 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.1% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,575,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in 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 last quarter. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors 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%

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.44.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $313.33 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $309.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.42. The company has a market capitalization of $4.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $219.25 and a 52-week high of $344.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 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 company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Apple 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.