Optimize Financial Inc Buys Shares of 8,913 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,980,000. Apple makes up approximately 0.7% of Optimize Financial Inc's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.80.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $234.07 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $221.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.