Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC Has $3.67 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,450 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,955 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 1.7% of Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of earnings. Analysts expect continued strength in iPhone and Services revenue, while Goldman Sachs raised its price target and projected outperformance in iPhone and Mac sales. Options activity also indicates expectations for a substantial post-earnings move. Goldman raises Apple price target
• Positive Sentiment: Apple launched Apple Upgrade, a U.S. leasing program powered by Klarna. Customers can lease iPhones, Macs, iPads and Apple Watches through monthly payments, including iPhone plans starting at $17.99. The program could improve affordability, support upgrade frequency and broaden access to Apple’s hardware ecosystem. Apple launches US device leasing program with Klarna
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s privacy positioning is receiving favorable attention after users’ seemingly private Claude AI conversations appeared in Google search results. The publicity may reinforce Apple’s privacy brand, although the direct financial impact is unclear. Claude chats exposed in Google searches
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks are elevated. KeyBanc remains bearish, citing slowing unit and user growth, while Apple’s premium earnings multiple leaves limited room for an earnings or outlook disappointment. Investors will closely watch iPhone demand, Services growth, margins and management commentary during Tim Cook’s final earnings call as CEO. Apple earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory and component costs could pressure hardware margins, particularly if tariffs restrict Apple’s access to lower-cost Chinese suppliers. Separately, a lawsuit alleges that a fraudulent Bitcoin wallet app on the App Store caused about $1.8 million in losses, creating a modest App Store oversight and reputational risk. Memory tariffs and Apple margins

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.40.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $340.08 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.18. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.50 and a 12 month high of $342.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company 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.