McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,091 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.9% of McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP increased its holdings in Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth about $206,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Melius Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Apple Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $248.13 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $250.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

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.