Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to Issue Dividend Increase - $0.26 Per Share

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 1st, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.26 per share by the iPhone maker on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a 4.0% increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

Apple has increased its dividend by an average of 4.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Apple has a dividend payout ratio of 12.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Apple to earn $8.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.2%.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock traded down $6.46 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $198.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 67,393,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,243,938. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $212.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $228.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Maxim Group raised their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.