Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,179,441 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 15,026 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.5% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,498,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 890.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% during 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 buying an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $285.56 to $263.66 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $245.00 price objective (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.61.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total transaction of $456,177.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock worth $1,823,201. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of Apple’s September 9 product event, the first major launch under new CEO John Ternus. Ternus described the event as “phenomenal,” raising expectations for new premium iPhones and the company’s first foldable iPhone. Apple’s New CEO Teases “Phenomenal” iPhone Launch
• Positive Sentiment: The foldable iPhone could provide a significant new growth catalyst. Morgan Stanley estimates the device could contribute approximately $14 billion to the December quarter, while other projections suggest strong market share and premium pricing potential if demand materializes. Apple’s Foldable iPhone May Contribute $14 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $360 price target, supporting the view that Apple’s product pipeline and earnings growth can justify its premium valuation. Apple’s services business also continues to benefit from price increases to Apple TV and Apple One. Apple TV Price Hike
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has formally succeeded Tim Cook, while Cook remains executive chairman. The structure provides continuity and preserves Cook’s government and China relationships, but Ternus must prove that a product-focused strategy can improve Apple’s position in AI. Apple Leadership Transition
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple to Underperform, reportedly citing the cancellation of an all-glass MacBook or foldable MacBook project and skepticism that the foldable iPhone will be more than a niche product. Jefferies Downgrades Apple
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) UK lawsuit alleging that its App Tracking Transparency rules unfairly restrict third-party developers while favoring Apple’s own advertising services. BASF has also filed a separate patent lawsuit over face-authentication technology. BASF Patent Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory-chip costs could lift iPhone production expenses sharply, forcing Apple to raise prices, accept lower margins or risk weaker demand. Analysts remain divided, with DA Davidson maintaining a Neutral rating and a $270 price target. Apple Product and Leadership Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: An Apple senior vice president sold 1,439 shares worth about $456,000. The sale was relatively small, leaving the executive with nearly 35,800 shares, but it may add modestly to near-term investor caution. Apple Insider Trading Filing

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $328.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $225.95 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $314.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.13. The company has a market cap of $4.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

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.