Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 62,357 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 432,839 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 62,357 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.8% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Apple were worth $88,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $39,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 205,656,808 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $17,472,482,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Apple by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 68,190,569 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,870,795,000 after buying an additional 14,651,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $277.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $261.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.80. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $280.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Melius lifted their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Phillip Securities lowered Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $203.07 to $246.99 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

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.