Sterling Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 23.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,651 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,891 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.0% of Sterling Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Sterling Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after buying an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Apple Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $209.11. The company had a trading volume of 42,208,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,247,209. The company's 50 day moving average price is $203.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Apple
In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Barclays set a $173.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.27.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AAPL
Apple Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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