Independence Bank of Kentucky Raises Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,728 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 4.4% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its position in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 70.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. grew its position in Apple by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $132,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.80 and a 12 month high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Redburn Partners cut shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.