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

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 5.8% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $16,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 14,145.8% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558,826 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $834,368,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,909,457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245,281 shares during the period. Finally, Tairen Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $588,952,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI restated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.78.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $4.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $254.49. The company had a trading volume of 145,580,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,671,145. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $255.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company's 50-day moving average price is $234.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.86, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.45%.

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.