Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Management LLC

Sterling Investment Management LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,618 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 313 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.3% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Flagstone Financial Management grew its position in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Corporation increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Bank of America raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Maxim Group began coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.62.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $4.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $173.50. 66,161,781 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,497,953. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $172.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

About Apple

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.