First National Trust Co Has $149.16 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

First National Trust Co boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 595,623 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 4,516 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.6% of First National Trust Co's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. First National Trust Co's holdings in Apple were worth $149,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 7,192,453 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,675,842,000 after purchasing an additional 870,556 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 7,128 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,661,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.3% in the third quarter. Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 32,444 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,250,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the period. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,248,000. Finally, Heritage Investment Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 22.3% during the third quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 21,443 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,996,000 after buying an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $200.42. The stock had a trading volume of 44,115,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,228,220. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $204.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.36. 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 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.