Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Trimmed by KP Management LLC

KP Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.4% of KP Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. KP Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $10,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $3.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $255.59. 42,297,621 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,290,680. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $237.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.79. The company has a market cap of $3.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $256.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.47.

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.