Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,851 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,054 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $15,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $77,000. ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at $110,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $208.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $216.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.42. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.15 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $202.33 to $167.88 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.88.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.