State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 70,100 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,830,399 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 70,100 shares during the period. Apple comprises 4.9% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,108,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $11,413,990,000 after purchasing an additional 37,746,784 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $316.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $316.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.35. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.95 and a 12 month high of $344.57. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is expected to introduce its first foldable iPhone, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Morgan Stanley estimates the foldable could ship about 6.5 million units in the December quarter and generate approximately $14 billion in revenue, creating a potentially significant new growth category. Apple’s foldable iPhone could add $14 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a Buy rating and a $380 price target, anticipating a roughly $2,099 foldable model and higher prices for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. Premium pricing could support revenue and margins if demand holds. Apple’s Wednesday event and Bank of America’s price target
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s acquisition of Sonera Magnetics, a company developing non-invasive neural-signal sensors, could strengthen its long-term health, wearable and human-computer-interface ambitions. The deal was completed in May but became public through a European Commission notice. Apple Purchases Neural Signal Sensor Company Sonera
• Neutral Sentiment: The launch is also the first major keynote for new CEO John Ternus. Investors will look for evidence that his leadership can accelerate hardware innovation while addressing Apple’s perceived artificial-intelligence shortcomings. Apple’s New CEO Has a Hardware Event and an AI Problem
• Neutral Sentiment: Historical analysis suggests Apple stock often has a muted or mixed reaction after major iPhone reveals, increasing the risk that strong results are already reflected in the valuation. Berkshire Hathaway’s continued large Apple position provides a supportive long-term signal but is not a near-term catalyst. How Apple stock usually reacts to big iPhone reveal events
• Negative Sentiment: AI data-center demand is diverting premium memory capacity away from smartphone components, potentially raising Apple’s costs and pressuring iPhone margins. AI diverts memory from phones
• Negative Sentiment: Huawei and Xiaomi have launched premium foldables ahead of Apple, raising competitive pressure—particularly in China. Analysts also warn that the stock could experience a “sell-the-news” reaction because expectations and valuation are high. Huawei launches a tri-fold smartphone ahead of Apple

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, 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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,201 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. KGI Securities lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.53.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its principal products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware products.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, Apple Pay and iCloud. These services provide digital content, payments, cloud storage and subscription offerings across the company’s ecosystem of devices.

Founded in 1976, Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California, and serves consumers, businesses, educational institutions and government customers worldwide.