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

Optas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 77,407 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,601 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.1% of Optas LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Optas LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 4.0% in the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 58,160 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,551,000 after purchasing an additional 2,257 shares during the period. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 79,028 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,414,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Partners grew its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the third quarter. Stevens Capital Partners now owns 9,564 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,228,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 8,715 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 20,683 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $243.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $238.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.