Krane Funds Advisors LLC Purchases 1,455 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Krane Funds Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. by 16.1% in Q1, owning 10,508 shares valued at $2.33 million, making it its 21st largest holding.
• Apple reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.57, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $94.04 billion, a 9.6% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company has announced a stock repurchase plan authorizing up to $100 billion in buybacks, indicating confidence in its stock valuation, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

Krane Funds Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,508 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Apple comprises 0.1% of Krane Funds Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Krane Funds Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Penobscot Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Penobscot Wealth Management now owns 12,243 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,720,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 106,309 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $23,614,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 45,617 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,133,000 after buying an additional 5,219 shares during the last quarter. TLW Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. TLW Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,171 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,477,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $347,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $1.5190 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $224.4910. The company had a trading volume of 17,095,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,413,074. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.98.

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.