Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Cut by Truist Financial Corp

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 6.3% during Q1, owning 6,840,730 shares after selling 463,117 shares, with a total worth of $1.52 billion.
• Apple reported earnings of $1.57 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and generating $94.04 billion in revenue, a 9.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $100 billion share buyback program, indicating confidence in its stock valuation, alongside a recent dividend of $0.26 per share.

Truist Financial Corp cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,840,730 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 463,117 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.4% of Truist Financial Corp's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Apple were worth $1,519,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $2.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $211.89 and its 200-day moving average is $213.13.

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

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

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. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.98.

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.