Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Kanawha Capital Management LLC

Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 340,586 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.6% of Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $71,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $33,912,466,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 23,076.4% during the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after buying an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Apple by 158.3% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,977,582,000 after acquiring an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $227.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

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.