Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s 2nd Largest Position

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 506,583 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,233 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.5% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Apple were worth $126,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $140,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $204.57 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $166.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $217.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.52. The company has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

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.