Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Optas LLC's 6th Largest Position

Optas LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,303 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,922 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.9% of Optas LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Optas LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $16,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after buying an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $214.15. 46,876,618 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,159,595. The business's 50-day moving average price is $204.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Apple

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.