PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 137,776 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 0.7%, owning 19,212,466 shares valued at approximately $4.27 billion, making it Apple's third-largest investor.
• Apple announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.4% and a dividend payout ratio of 15.78%.
• Apple recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.57 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching $94.04 billion for the quarter.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,212,466 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 137,776 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.2% of PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Apple worth $4,267,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 12.3% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,791,655 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $397,980,000 after purchasing an additional 196,610 shares during the period. Barings LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 5.7% during the first quarter. Barings LLC now owns 18,445 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,097,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14.2% during the first quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. now owns 8,755 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $3,568,000. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 5.8% during the first quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 163,330 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $36,280,000 after purchasing an additional 9,025 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.99.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock traded down $3.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $234.35. The company had a trading volume of 65,935,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,099,056. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $220.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.50. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

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.