Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC's 4th Largest Position

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 18.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,906 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 10,982 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 4.1% of 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $15,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after buying an additional 59,835,676 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after buying an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded up $3.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $233.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 55,591,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,968,047. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $207.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

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.