Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,894 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,631 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 8.3% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $33,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded up $0.03 on Tuesday, reaching $198.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 49,654,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,219,123. The business's fifty day moving average price is $211.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Raymond James cut their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Apple Company 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.