Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Decreased by Kennedy Investment Group

Key Points

• Kennedy Investment Group reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 1.8%, now holding 71,700 shares valued at approximately $14.7 million.
• Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC significantly increased its position by 573,627.2%, now owning 205.7 million shares worth about $39 billion.
• Apple reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, surpassing analysts' expectations and achieving 9.6% revenue growth year-over-year.

Kennedy Investment Group decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,700 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,340 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 6.2% of Kennedy Investment Group's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Kennedy Investment Group's holdings in Apple were worth $14,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $39,065,374,000 after buying an additional 205,656,808 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,472,482,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after buying an additional 59,835,676 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Apple by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 68,190,569 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,870,795,000 after buying an additional 14,651,321 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $258.06 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.16, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.55.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 target price on Apple and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.29.

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.

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