Elser Financial Planning Inc Sells 276 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Elser Financial Planning Inc reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,668 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 276 shares during the period. Apple comprises 0.3% of Elser Financial Planning Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Elser Financial Planning Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth approximately $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $247.45 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $240.67 and its 200 day moving average is $216.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $298.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.29.

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.