Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 6,629 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 2.4%, holding 267,544 shares valued at approximately $59.43 million.
• Apple's recent quarterly earnings report showed a revenue of $94.04 billion, surpassing expectations, with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.14.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, which paid out on August 14th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 267,544 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 6,629 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.1% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $59,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.05.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $239.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 54,829,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $219.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.