Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,631 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,670 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 4.3% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $284.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $292.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.26 and a 12 month high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.85.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.