Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Key Points

• The Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 1,245.3%, acquiring an additional 396,790 shares to own a total of 428,652 shares, making Apple its largest investment position.
• Apple recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, surpassing forecasts, and generated revenue of $94.04 billion, showing a year-over-year increase of 9.6%.
• The company's board authorized a $100 billion stock buyback program, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation and a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1,245.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 428,652 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 396,790 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 6.8% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Apple were worth $95,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $5.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $202.38. The company had a trading volume of 97,423,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,912,472. The company's fifty day moving average is $205.37 and its 200 day moving average is $213.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.17.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 172.48%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.25.

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.