Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC Has $3.67 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,450 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,955 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.7% of Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.0% in the first quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group set a $365.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $364.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.40.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of earnings. Analysts expect continued strength in iPhone and Services revenue, while Goldman Sachs raised its price target and projected outperformance in iPhone and Mac sales. Options activity also indicates expectations for a substantial post-earnings move. Goldman raises Apple price target
• Positive Sentiment: Apple launched Apple Upgrade, a U.S. leasing program powered by Klarna. Customers can lease iPhones, Macs, iPads and Apple Watches through monthly payments, including iPhone plans starting at $17.99. The program could improve affordability, support upgrade frequency and broaden access to Apple’s hardware ecosystem. Apple launches US device leasing program with Klarna
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s privacy positioning is receiving favorable attention after users’ seemingly private Claude AI conversations appeared in Google search results. The publicity may reinforce Apple’s privacy brand, although the direct financial impact is unclear. Claude chats exposed in Google searches
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks are elevated. KeyBanc remains bearish, citing slowing unit and user growth, while Apple’s premium earnings multiple leaves limited room for an earnings or outlook disappointment. Investors will closely watch iPhone demand, Services growth, margins and management commentary during Tim Cook’s final earnings call as CEO. Apple earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory and component costs could pressure hardware margins, particularly if tariffs restrict Apple’s access to lower-cost Chinese suppliers. Separately, a lawsuit alleges that a fraudulent Bitcoin wallet app on the App Store caused about $1.8 million in losses, creating a modest App Store oversight and reputational risk. Memory tariffs and Apple margins

Apple Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $340.08 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.50 and a 52 week high of $342.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $308.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.