Truist Financial Corp Buys 213,139 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,303,847 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 213,139 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.9% of Truist Financial Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,829,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in Apple by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $787,631,000 after purchasing an additional 588,427 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,016,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 9.8% during the third quarter. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,156 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,395,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065 shares during the period. Financial Management Network Inc. raised its position in Apple by 3.2% in the third quarter. Financial Management Network Inc. now owns 64,470 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudock Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.0% in the third quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 35,382 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $204.57 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $217.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $166.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, 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 transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $202.33 to $167.88 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.17.

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.