Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is KBC Group NV's 5th Largest Position

KBC Group NV lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 13.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,349,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 811,868 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.8% of KBC Group NV's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. KBC Group NV's holdings in Apple were worth $1,246,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 14,145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558,826 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 22,870.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 5,590,588 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,302,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,566,250 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $834,368,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.0% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 27,882,996 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,496,738,000 after purchasing an additional 3,416,922 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $222.64 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.85.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. New Street Research reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Apple from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $238.02.

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.