Kestra Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,851 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,054 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $15,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.4 %

Apple stock traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $210.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 38,624,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,741,088. The stock's fifty day moving average is $215.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.11 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.31.

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.