Arizona State Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,361,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 29,821 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 5.9% of Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,110,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aspetuck Financial Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Aspetuck Financial Management LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,507,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc. increased its position in Apple by 11.8% during the third quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 39,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,149,000 after acquiring an additional 4,201 shares during the period. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 83,185 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $21,181,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Management Co. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 17,803 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Apple by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 83,532 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,270,000 after purchasing an additional 2,438 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $293.41.

Apple Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $264.18 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $259.59.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook teased a series of product launches next week (new iPhone, iPad, MacBook announcements), which typically lifts demand expectations and short‑term investor sentiment. Tim Cook Teases Apple Launch On Monday
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Netflix agreed to co‑broadcast the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Apple TV and Netflix, a partnership that can boost Apple TV viewership and services engagement. Apple and Netflix team up to air Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix
• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg/Reuters report Apple is in talks to launch Apple Pay in India — a multi‑hundred‑million‑user market that could materially grow services revenues over time. Apple talks with banks to start payment service in India
• Positive Sentiment: Apple moved to dismiss a proposed class action alleging it misled investors on Siri’s AI progress — if successful, this reduces a legal overhang. Apple seeks dismissal of fraud lawsuit over Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan highlighted Apple’s potential to benefit from AI “companions” and Apple Intelligence initiatives, reinforcing the view that Apple can monetize AI through devices and services. AI Companions Could Make Apple Stock an AI Winner
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in recent filings appears anomalous/zero (likely reporting error), so it provides no clear directional signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Heightened retail/institutional search and ETF coverage mention Apple as a core holding (Zacks, Vanguard ETF pieces), reflecting continued investor attention but not immediate directional impact. Investors Heavily Search Apple Inc. (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Advisors and funds continue to rebalance allocations (mentions of trades to balance Nvidia/Apple exposure), indicating portfolio flows but not a clear buy/sell signal. Advisor added to bond position to balance Nvidia and Apple holdings
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI hired a high‑profile researcher who previously led Apple’s models team, underscoring talent competition in AI that could challenge Apple’s pace of AI product development. OpenAI hires Meta AI researcher who previously led Apple’s models team
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/market pressure: coverage on Magnificent Seven profit-taking and elevated Nasdaq stress gauges suggests sectorwide selling/volatility, which depresses large-cap tech stocks including AAPL. Stocks Are Set for a February Slide. Can the Magnificent 7 Spark a March Rebound?

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.