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

Key Points

• Apple has received a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 35 covering firms, with 23 buy ratings and an average 12-month price target of about $314.59.
• Recent quarterly results were strong: Apple reported $2.01 EPS on $111.18 billion in revenue, both above expectations, with revenue up 16.6% year over year.
• Insider activity has skewed toward selling, including notable sales by SVP Deirdre O’Brien and CFO Kevan Parekh, though institutional investors still hold 67.73% of the company’s shares.

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $314.5882.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Services business posted record revenue in the fiscal second quarter, supported by ecosystem growth, AI-related updates, and its huge installed device base. Apple Continues to Expand Services Business: What's the Path Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators said Apple still has strong fundamentals, including a solid balance sheet, loyal customer base, and products investors continue to love, which supports the long-term bull case. Jim Cramer on Apple: “It Still Has Products We All Love”
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Apple, signaling expectations for steady profit growth over the next two fiscal years. Apple earnings estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC announcements showed a clearer AI roadmap, including next-generation Siri features and device software updates, but the market appears to be waiting for stronger evidence that these changes will drive meaningful revenue growth. Apple Unveils Siri AI. Here's Why It's Not Impressing Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggested Apple’s AI launch could help the stock over time, but it may take more than Siri upgrades alone to restore investor enthusiasm. Apple Just Gave Investors a Glimpse of Is AI Future at WWDC. It May Take More to Revive AAPL Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried Apple’s AI ambitions are colliding with a memory-cost crunch, creating pricing pressure that could weigh on margins. Apple Faces a No-Win Pricing Dilemma. Should Investors Be Worried?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say the market was disappointed that Apple’s Siri AI reveal did not feel like a big enough breakthrough to justify a sharper rerating of the stock. Apple's AI News Underwhelms. Siri AI Release Concerns Persist.

Apple Trading Down 1.5%

Apple stock opened at $291.13 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $285.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple has a 12 month low of $195.07 and a 12 month high of $317.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple will post 8.75 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is 13.06%.

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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