Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Trimmed by First American Bank

Key Points

• First American Bank sold 4,419 shares of Apple Inc., reducing its position by 0.7% and holding 652,266 shares worth approximately $144.89 million.
• Apple announced a $100 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating that its board considers the stock to be undervalued.
• Despite a mixed outlook from analysts, the consensus price target for Apple is $234.94, reflecting a moderate buy rating backed by recent earnings that exceeded expectations.

First American Bank cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 652,266 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,419 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 10.7% of First American Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. First American Bank's holdings in Apple were worth $144,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Apple by 25,934.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after purchasing an additional 59,835,676 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Down 2.5%

AAPL stock traded down $5.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $202.38. The company had a trading volume of 97,423,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,912,472. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $205.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.98. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.17.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 172.48% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.25.

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.