First Pacific Financial Raises Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• First Pacific Financial increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 33.3%, now owning 19,641 shares valued at approximately $4 million, making Apple the 27th largest position in its portfolio.
• Insider selling was noted as CFO Kevan Parekh and CEO Timothy D. Cook sold a combined 134,162 shares for over $34 million, representing significant decreases in their holdings.
• Apple's stock price has been set with new high target prices by brokerages, ranging from $270 to $310, reflecting strong confidence in the company's prospects despite recent insider selling activity.

First Pacific Financial lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 33.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,641 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 4,912 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 0.6% of First Pacific Financial's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. First Pacific Financial's holdings in Apple were worth $4,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the period. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $40,107,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares during the period. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 209.2% during the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $298.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Wedbush set a $310.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.47.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $262.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $241.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $217.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $264.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio 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.

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