Sterling Financial Planning Inc. Has $3.22 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,304 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.3% of Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,986,000 after buying an additional 1,643 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Apple by 132.8% in the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after acquiring an additional 18,615 shares during the period. Finally, Sunpointe LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $4,782,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $186.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.27.

Apple Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $229.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $223.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Company 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.