State of Michigan Retirement System Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,183,799 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 151,700 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 5.5% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,137,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $308.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $195.07 and a 1-year high of $311.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $271.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.16.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Maxim Group raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.31.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Apple to $380 from $330 and kept a Buy rating, saying Apple is well positioned to benefit from the emerging “agentic AI” smartphone market and could unlock substantial new revenue from a redesigned Siri and AI features. Apple seen as key beneficiary of emerging agentic AI smartphone market, BofA says
• Positive Sentiment: Other Wall Street coverage echoed that view, with reports saying Apple is hitting all-time highs as investors expect a deeper AI push at WWDC, which could improve sentiment and support further upside. Apple stock hits all-time high as analysts see AI-driven breakout
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also highlighted strong underlying fundamentals, including record Services revenue and continued strength in iPhone sales, reinforcing the long-term growth case for Apple. Strong Content & Advertising Aids Apple’s Services: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple and Google are pushing back against Canada’s proposed police data-access bill, a regulatory issue that could affect the company’s privacy stance but is not an immediate earnings driver. Apple, Google Blast Canada’s Plan to Expand Police Data Powers
• Negative Sentiment: One potential headwind came from an article noting iPhone 17e sales in Japan have slowed versus its predecessor, which could raise questions about demand in some markets. The Real Reason The iPhone 17e Is Falling Behind Its Predecessor In Japan

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.