Apple Inc. $AAPL is First Bancorp Inc ME's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• First Bancorp Inc. ME trimmed its Apple stake by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, but Apple still remains its 6th-largest holding and 3.2% of its portfolio, valued at about $6.1 million.
• Apple recently delivered strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 beating estimates and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% from a year earlier. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $305.74. Some analysts are even more bullish, citing AI and upcoming software catalysts as potential drivers of further upside.

First Bancorp Inc ME reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,455 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,006 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.2% of First Bancorp Inc ME's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. First Bancorp Inc ME's holdings in Apple were worth $6,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 40,543 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.74.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $293.25 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $294.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $261.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.04. The company has a market cap of $4.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.06. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Apple Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.