Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Optimum Investment Advisors

Optimum Investment Advisors cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,519 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,169 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 9.7% of Optimum Investment Advisors' holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Optimum Investment Advisors' holdings in Apple were worth $21,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,179,000. Fortis Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 53,146 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,309,000 after acquiring an additional 17,646 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,452,287,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 274,173 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $68,658,000 after acquiring an additional 18,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,099,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AAPL traded down $2.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $200.63. 55,023,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,120,355. The company has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.85, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50 day moving average is $201.99 and its 200-day moving average is $224.54. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Apple 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.