Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 274,173 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 18,470 shares during the period. Apple comprises 4.5% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $68,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their price target 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. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.85 during trading on Monday, reaching $201.70. The stock had a trading volume of 35,293,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,144,940. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

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.