Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $234.94.
AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd.
Read Our Latest Report on AAPL
Apple Trading Up 0.1%
NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $213.88. 38,805,177 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,464,392. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $204.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.58.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.
Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Activity at Apple
In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.
About Apple
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Get Free ReportApple 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.
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