First Hawaiian Bank Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

First Hawaiian Bank reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 123,649 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 15,589 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 0.7% of First Hawaiian Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $21,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 14,395.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,815,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $560,388,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $209.68 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $220.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.06.

Apple 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.