Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Cut by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Counsel LLC cut its Apple stake by 7.2% in the first quarter, selling 4,670 shares and leaving the firm with 60,631 shares valued at about $15.4 million.
• Apple’s recent earnings topped expectations, with $2.01 EPS on $111.18 billion in revenue, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.
• Sentiment on AAPL remains mixed: Morgan Stanley kept a Buy rating with a $360 target, while concerns persist over higher prices for Macs and iPads and Apple’s loss of a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI.

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,631 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,670 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.3% 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 $15,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. KGI Securities cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of AAPL opened at $284.29 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.26 and a twelve month high of $317.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $292.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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