Independence Bank of Kentucky Acquires 1,976 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its ownership of Apple Inc. by 1.7%, acquiring an additional 1,976 shares, bringing its total holdings to 119,431 shares valued at approximately $24.5 million.
• Several hedge funds made significant adjustments to their positions in Apple, with Kingstone Capital Partners increasing its stake by a dramatic 573,627.2%, leading to holdings worth over $39 billion.
• Analyst ratings for Apple show a strong overall sentiment, with multiple firms raising their price targets, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of approximately $248.29.

Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,431 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,976 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.5% of Independence Bank of Kentucky's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Independence Bank of Kentucky's holdings in Apple were worth $24,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $39,065,374,000 after buying an additional 205,656,808 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after buying an additional 59,835,676 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Apple by 27.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 68,190,569 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,870,795,000 after buying an additional 14,651,321 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, CLSA raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.29.

Apple Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of AAPL opened at $249.34 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The business's fifty day moving average is $240.12 and its 200-day moving average is $216.49. 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 cap of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

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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