Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by Optas LLC

Optas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,195 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.4% of Optas LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Optas LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $22,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $69,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Down 0.8%

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

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Roundup

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. KGI Securities downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.11.

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.