Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Boosted by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,259 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 10,210 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 5.6% 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 $14,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its stake in Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $227.79 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $222.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.38. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler Companies reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.