Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by ELCO Management Co. LLC

ELCO Management Co. LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 807 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.2% of ELCO Management Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. ELCO Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its stake in Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $278.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $280.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $263.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.72.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. DZ Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $203.07 to $246.99 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is 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.