Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Reduced by Peoples Bank KS

Peoples Bank KS decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,790 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 885 shares during the period. Apple comprises 2.8% of Peoples Bank KS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Peoples Bank KS’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Asset Planning Corporation grew its stake in Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $214.29 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.57. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $220.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.06.

About Apple

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.