Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,097,600 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $278,560,000. Apple accounts for about 4.9% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the first quarter valued at $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Apple by 890.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,413,990,000 after acquiring an additional 37,746,784 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 4.8%

AAPL opened at $308.63 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average is $294.54 and its 200 day moving average is $273.60.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, KGI Securities cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly planning at least five new iPhone models through early 2027, including a bigger push into foldables, which could refresh demand and support a stronger upgrade cycle. Apple plans five new iPhones through 2027, eyes Chinese-made chips amid foldable push, reports say
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports say Apple’s stock is rebounding after last week’s selloff, with investors viewing recent price hikes as a way to defend margins rather than a sign of weakening demand. Apple’s Aggressive Price Hikes Raise Eyebrows As Wall Street Links AI Chip Shortages To Inflation Pressure— Ryan Detrick Says ‘This is the Real World Stuff’
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remained constructive, with some analysts and strategists pointing to Apple’s AI roadmap, App Store/services growth, and long-term product pipeline as reasons to stay bullish on AAPL. What’s Going on With Apple Stock Thursday?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market rotation matters too: Apple is outperforming a weak tech tape, so some of the stock’s strength may reflect investors rotating into higher-quality mega-cap names rather than a company-specific catalyst alone. Dow Jones Futures: Dow Hits High But AI Tumbles; Apple, Robinhood Are Buys As Tesla, Sandisk Dive
• Negative Sentiment: The main overhang is margin pressure from surging memory and component costs, which has already forced Apple to raise prices on Macs and iPads and could squeeze profitability if costs stay elevated. Is Apple stock in trouble? Rising costs threaten margins, demand
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also watching reports that Apple may source memory chips from blacklisted Chinese suppliers, a move that highlights the seriousness of the supply shortage and adds geopolitical risk. Russia warns Apple of $52 million fine over alleged bias against local apps

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.