Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives $237.60 Average Price Target from Analysts

Key Points

• Apple Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 31 analysts, with a 12-month target price averaging $237.60.
• The company recently reported $1.57 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, along with a revenue increase of 9.6% year-over-year.
• Apple's Board of Directors authorized a $100 billion stock repurchase plan, a move indicating management's confidence in the stock's value.

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-one analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation, sixteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $237.5972.

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first 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 bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its position in Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded down $3.9520 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $226.6080. The stock had a trading volume of 19,872,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,526,801. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $210.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.06. Apple has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized 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 buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.