Apple Inc. $AAPL Holdings Lowered by Citizens & Northern Corp

Key Points

• Citizens & Northern Corp cut its Apple stake by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,631 shares and leaving it with 53,237 shares worth about $14.47 million.
• Apple’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $2.01 on $111.18 billion in revenue, both above analyst estimates and up 16.6% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on Apple, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $308.74, while the stock also recently received a higher quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

Citizens & Northern Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,237 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,631 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.6% of Citizens & Northern Corp's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Citizens & Northern Corp's holdings in Apple were worth $14,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,934,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the third quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. KGI Securities raised shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $330.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.74.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $308.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $193.46 and a one year high of $311.40. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $269.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.63. The stock has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is 13.06%.

About Apple

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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