Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Knuff & Co LLC’s Largest Position

Knuff & Co LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 164,425 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,652 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 12.5% of Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $41,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 10.6% during 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $24,566,054,000 after buying an additional 3,156,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the third 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 valued at $21,335,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,087 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $202.09 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. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.08, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $205.64 and its 200 day moving average is $226.26. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.