5,799,404 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,799,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,452,287,000. Apple accounts for about 6.9% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 274,173 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $68,658,000 after buying an additional 18,470 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,099,000. Umpqua Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 63,194 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,742,000 after buying an additional 2,550 shares during the period. Sykon Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Sykon Capital LLC now owns 24,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,193,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 223,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $55,900,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $199.01 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $203.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank lowered Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.