Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 82.5% during Q1, acquiring an additional 30,706 shares, bringing its total to 67,925 shares valued at $15,088,000.
• Apple has recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.26 per share and announced a share buyback plan allowing for the repurchase of up to $100 billion in stock.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" on Apple with an average target price of $234.94, reflective of varying perspectives on the stock's future performance.

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 82.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,925 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 30,706 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.2% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $15,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $209.05. 43,674,703 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,746,808. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $205.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.