Kentucky Retirement Systems Buys 5,188 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,187,695 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,188 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 6.1% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Apple were worth $154,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Robinson Value Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Align Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 57.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Atlantic Securities upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $184.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Cowen lowered their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.74.

Apple Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $174.20 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.17 and a 52-week high of $176.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $165.32 and a 200 day moving average of $150.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.84 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.30%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 4th that permits the company to buyback $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 200 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.92, for a total transaction of $32,984.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 177,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,299,192.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.