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) 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) 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.