Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Apple has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from 35 brokerage firms, with an average 1-year price target of about $314.85.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $2.01 versus estimates of $1.95 and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% year over year.
• Recent headlines highlight a new Broadcom chip deal that could strengthen Apple’s supply chain and AI infrastructure, while an EU court loss adds continued regulatory pressure in Europe.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $314.8529.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

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

Apple Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $313.39 on Thursday. 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 has a 1 year low of $201.50 and a 1 year high of $317.40. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $297.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. 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 an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is 13.06%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The Broadcom agreement should improve Apple’s supply chain resiliency, reduce reliance on overseas suppliers, and strengthen its domestic manufacturing story. Apple to increase spend with Broadcom to produce billions more U.S. chips
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is also taking the deal as a sign that Apple is investing aggressively in its long-term chip and AI infrastructure, which could support future product launches and margin stability. Apple Announces Broadcom Chip Deal Worth More Than $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple also lost an EU court challenge to the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, leaving its App Store and iOS under tougher antitrust obligations in Europe, but investors appear to be focusing more on the chip deal today. EU court rejects Apple's challenge against EU rules reining in Big Tech
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, JPMorgan said recent hardware price increases are unlikely to hurt demand, reinforcing the view that Apple’s pricing power remains intact heading into earnings later this month. Apple price hikes unlikely to hurt demand, JPMorgan says as it raises PT

About Apple

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.

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