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

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,044,811 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 14,392 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 7.7% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Apple were worth $261,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,335,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,087 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.31.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $210.14 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $215.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.19. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.11 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Equities research 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. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.