First National Trust Co Sells 1,502 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

First National Trust Co lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 619,079 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,502 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.3% of First National Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $106,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $196.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $3.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $224.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 25,147,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,596,133. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $196.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $225.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.