Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,350,242 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 369,581 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.2% of PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Apple worth $4,845,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Apple by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,809,212 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,301,966,000 after purchasing an additional 368,114 shares during the period. RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 127,972 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $32,047,000 after purchasing an additional 15,446 shares in the last quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 199.0% in the 4th quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 58,011 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,527,000 after purchasing an additional 116,580 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 272,983 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $68,360,000 after purchasing an additional 7,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Babb Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $437,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.19 on Friday, reaching $211.26. The stock had a trading volume of 53,614,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,997,127. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $206.09 and a 200 day moving average of $226.66. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple 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 value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

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.