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

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 92.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,862 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 418,293 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 0.7% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Apple were worth $7,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $210.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 38,624,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,741,088. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.11 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $215.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.19.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $202.33 to $167.88 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.31.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.