Optas LLC Acquires 4,798 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Optas LLC increased its Apple stake by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 4,798 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 84,666 shares worth about $23.0 million.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results with earnings per share of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, both above analyst expectations, while revenue rose 16.6% year over year.
• The company raised its dividend to $0.27 per share quarterly, and analysts remain generally positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.74.

Optas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,666 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.6% of Optas LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Optas LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $23,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first 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 position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $300.23 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.46 and a 52-week high of $303.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.74.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s post-earnings rally continues after the company posted record quarterly revenue and EPS, boosted its dividend, and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analysts say the results support further upside and have raised price targets. Apple Stock Hits All-Time High as Post-Earnings Rally Continues
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Apple to $365 and said a bull-case scenario could reach $500, citing compounding growth from Services and Apple’s ability to keep expanding free cash flow. Evercore ISI Hikes Apple Price Target to $365
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being helped by reports that iPhone demand remains strong globally, plus Soros Fund Management reportedly boosted its Apple position during the quarter. George Soros’s fund buys Berkshire Hathaway stock — now that Buffett is gone
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut iPhone 17 prices in China ahead of the 618 shopping festival, which could help support unit sales in a key market. Apple Cuts iPhone 17 Prices in China
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is considering legal action over its strained ChatGPT partnership with Apple, which adds uncertainty around Apple’s AI strategy and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. OpenAI explores legal options against Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic’s Mythos AI found vulnerabilities in Apple’s macOS/iOS are a reminder of ongoing security scrutiny, but the news is more reputational than fundamentally financial for now. Anthropic's Mythos Helped Find Bugs in Apple's Desktop Operating System

About Apple

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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