Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Has $9.78 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 16.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,049 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 11,199 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.5% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,677,190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 54,702,300 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,531,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067,587 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $230.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $233.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.52.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.43.

Apple 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.