Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Management LLC

Sterling Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,618 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 313 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.3% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its position in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its position in Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Redburn Partners downgraded shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.62.

Apple Trading Up 2.5 %

AAPL stock traded up $4.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $173.50. 66,161,781 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 60,497,953. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.77.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Apple

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.