Element Pointe Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Element Pointe Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,171 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 613 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.0% of Element Pointe Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Element Pointe Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $224.23 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.06. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.88, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.51.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 412,746 shares of company stock valued at $93,021,362. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.