Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,997 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,171 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.7% of McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.27.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $208.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $203.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.50. The company has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released 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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.

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