Nkcfo LLC Purchases 2,350 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Nkcfo LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 55,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 6.4% of Nkcfo LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Nkcfo LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 14,145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after buying an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in 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 worth $1,977,582,000 after buying an additional 7,067,379 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 161.2% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,502,068,000 after buying an additional 5,405,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $834,368,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 412,746 shares of company stock worth $93,021,362 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $226.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $226.82 and a 200-day moving average of $214.03. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. KeyCorp lowered Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.51.

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.