ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,145 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 726 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.0% of ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $560,388,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $487,435,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Apple by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $461,021,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after buying an additional 2,018,010 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.03. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.80 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler Companies lowered Apple to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.