Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by Optas LLC

Key Points

• Optas LLC increased its Apple stake by 4.2% in the first quarter, buying 3,529 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 88,195 shares worth about $22.4 million.
• Apple reported strong fiscal Q2 results, with EPS of $2.01 beating estimates and revenue of $111.18 billion topping forecasts, while revenue rose 16.6% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, and Wall Street currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $313.11.

Optas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,195 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 3,529 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.4% of Optas LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Optas LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $22,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $314.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.50 and a 1-year high of $323.45. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.07, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $301.09 and a 200-day moving average of $275.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Apple from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $313.11.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Apple to $365 and kept a Buy rating, arguing the company can keep gaining market share and may benefit from premium iPhone pricing and Apple Intelligence upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to show strong smartphone performance, including record Q2 market share in China and reports that it has outperformed the broader smartphone slump, which supports the case for resilient demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also focusing on potential future catalysts such as a possible iPhone price increase and new product cycles, including foldable iPhone plans and AI-focused chip development. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI is keeping the stock in the headlines; it could protect Apple’s intellectual property and slow a competitor’s hardware push, but it also adds legal uncertainty. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Broadcom’s multiyear chip agreement was described as strategically positive for Apple’s AI silicon efforts, but it is more of a longer-term support story than a direct near-term stock mover. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc’s downgrade and related bearish commentary from other firms are the clearest reasons Apple stock is lower, with analysts warning that slowing iPhone upgrades and softer Services growth could limit further upside. Article Title

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.

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