Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Community Trust & Investment Co.

Community Trust & Investment Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 366,602 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,134 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 5.2% of Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $81,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.11.

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

AAPL opened at $212.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $204.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.