Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 139,757 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,909,769 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 139,757 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.9% of Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Apple were worth $327,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 168.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 268 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $226.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $220.32 and a 200-day moving average of $194.40. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 188,884 shares of company stock worth $38,092,387 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Loop Capital raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.63.

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.