Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Raised by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 610,998 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,683 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.2% of First National Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $79,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $221,753,959,000 after acquiring an additional 8,734,393 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 1.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 80,739,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,097,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155,915 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Apple by 13.1% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 71,060,708 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,407,910,000 after acquiring an additional 8,230,300 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 48,826,270 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,525,555,000 after acquiring an additional 424,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,737,612 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,526,687,000 after acquiring an additional 245,336 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $172.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $124.17 and a one year high of $176.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $162.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.79.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. Apple’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 4th that allows the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 56,072 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.17, for a total transaction of $9,261,412.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,766,188.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Cowen reduced their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $125.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Atlantic Securities increased their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.29.

Apple Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.