Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-four analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $235.80.

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $1.04 on Friday, hitting $198.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 36,406,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,072,498. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50 day moving average is $208.09 and its 200-day moving average is $227.38. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.