Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Boosted by First Community Trust NA

First Community Trust NA raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 9.4% of First Community Trust NA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $17,981,000. Main Street Research LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 22.3% during the third quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 330,777 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $56,632,000 after buying an additional 60,400 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 110,855 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,979,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the third quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 40,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,934,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 7.4% during the third quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 167,322 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,647,000 after buying an additional 11,591 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Melius Research boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Maxim Group began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $208.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $188.57 and its 200 day moving average is $184.85. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $220.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.