Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,086,189 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 16,151 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 6.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Apple were worth $228,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Sequent Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $214,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 417,924 shares of company stock valued at $94,142,399 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $222.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.51. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lowered Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.51.

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.