Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Lowered by First Citizens Financial Corp

Key Points

• First Citizens Financial Corp reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 10% during the second quarter, now holding 21,579 shares valued at $4.43 million, comprising approximately 2.4% of its portfolio.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently altered their holdings in AAPL, with Norges Bank acquiring a significant new stake worth nearly $46.87 billion in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts generally view Apple positively, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of approximately $241.93, despite mixed ratings from various firms.

First Citizens Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,579 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,403 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.4% of First Citizens Financial Corp's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. First Citizens Financial Corp's holdings in Apple were worth $4,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Phillip Securities cut Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $242.74.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock traded up $7.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.50. 163,435,991 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,568,860. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $224.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.42. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.