Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Raised by Kentucky Trust Co

Kentucky Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,736 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.6% of Kentucky Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Kentucky Trust Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st 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. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $256.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $233.94 and a 200-day moving average of $214.96. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.95, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.49.

Apple Company 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.