Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 20.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,887 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,400 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.6% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Apple by 4.6% in the second quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,740,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust grew its position in Apple by 2.4% in the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,107,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the second quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $101,301,000 after acquiring an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.07.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s long-term AI strategy shifted toward a major deal with Google’s Gemini to power the next-generation Siri and Apple Intelligence — a faster route to competitive AI features that could boost services engagement and stickiness. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Apple TV+ is showing momentum and is highlighted as a growing threat to Netflix, which supports the case for accelerating services revenue and margin diversification beyond hardware. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains a core holding inside mega-cap / AI-heavy ETFs that outperformed in 2025; that structural demand supports liquidity and index flows but isn’t a direct company-specific catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Proposed U.S. bill to expand veteran training in emerging tech names Apple among potential beneficiaries (more skilled talent in semiconductors/AI over time) — long-term, indirect. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: India issued a final warning that it will proceed with an antitrust case after delays in Apple’s responses — a move that raises regulatory and large‑fine risk in a key market. That adds tangible downside risk to investor sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cathie Wood’s ARK and other commentators argue Apple’s reliance on Google for core AI models signals strategic weakness — this critique is amplifying short‑term sell‑side debate about Apple’s independence on AI and could pressure the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage price spikes are creating headwinds for hardware makers; rising component costs could compress iPhone and Mac margins if Apple cannot fully pass them through. Read More.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,030.54. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $255.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.02. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.92%.

Apple Company 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.