ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,906 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 699 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 0.9% of ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $33,912,466,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,677,190,000 after buying an additional 2,096,360 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 54,702,300 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,531,834,000 after buying an additional 1,067,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Apple by 7.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,369,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,887 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Cfra increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.17.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $216.32 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $222.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.00. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

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.