Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Optas LLC

Optas LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 70,806 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,896 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.8% of Optas LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Optas LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. WT Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $80,057,000. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 47,210 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 153,925 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $32,420,000 after purchasing an additional 4,027 shares in the last quarter. David Kennon Inc boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the second quarter. David Kennon Inc now owns 9,036 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 1.0% during the second quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 47,622 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,030,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Cfra raised their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $233.00 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $222.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.80. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.24, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

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.