Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Boosted by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its Apple stake by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,414 more shares to bring its total to 65,301 shares worth about $17.5 million.
• Apple’s latest quarterly results were strong, with EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion both beating estimates; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 and announced a fresh $100 billion buyback.
• Sentiment remains broadly positive, with analysts maintaining a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $308.74, while Apple stock recently traded near its 52-week high at $298.21.

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,301 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 9,414 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.0% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $17,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its position in Apple by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Monday, January 26th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. KGI Securities raised Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $298.21 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.46 and a 52 week high of $300.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $264.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter was a clear beat, with revenue of $111.18 billion and EPS of $2.01 topping expectations, while management also approved a fresh $100 billion buyback and raised the dividend.
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its price target on Apple to $365 from $330 and reiterated an Outperform rating, citing strong Services growth and long-term earnings/free-cash-flow compounding.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm remains elevated around Apple’s AI roadmap, with reports pointing to WWDC as a potential catalyst and broader expectations that Apple can monetize AI through devices and Services.
• Positive Sentiment: China-related headlines may also help sentiment, as Xi Jinping told U.S. CEOs including Tim Cook that China will “open wider,” easing some concerns about Apple’s supply chain and market access.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly exploring new AI-agent support in the App Store and additional iOS features, which could support the ecosystem but are still early-stage product rumors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Security reports about vulnerabilities found in macOS/iOS are a reminder of cyber risks, but they do not yet appear to be a material earnings issue.
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI is reportedly considering legal action against Apple over their ChatGPT partnership, raising the risk of a public dispute around Apple’s AI strategy.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling and a reported Foxconn ransomware incident may slightly temper sentiment, though neither looks large enough to outweigh the bullish earnings and analyst upgrades.

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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