Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Increased by McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 89.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,183 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,660 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.9% of McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Family CFO Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 950 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $173.31 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $181.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.73. The company has a market cap of $2.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.98 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Redburn Partners downgraded shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.