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

Key Points

• Apple has a “Moderate Buy” consensus among 35 analysts, with 22 buy ratings, 10 holds, two sells and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $331.60, though recent analyst actions have been mixed.
• Apple reported a strong quarter, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year to $109.42 billion and EPS of $2.02, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89. iPhone revenue increased 22%, while Mac revenue grew 29%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.08 payout and a 0.3% yield. Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple, while insiders own just 0.06%.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $331.60.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $276.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, KGI Securities downgraded shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 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 reported record June-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and diluted EPS of $2.02, exceeding Wall Street expectations. iPhone revenue rose 22% to $54.3 billion, while Mac revenue increased 29% to $10.4 billion. Apple reports third quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s large installed base, strong hardware demand and potential consumer-AI opportunities remain long-term supports. Some analysts remain bullish: TD Cowen raised its price target to $400, while other firms maintained Buy or Overweight ratings despite trimming estimates. Analyst raises Apple price target
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, payable August 13 to shareholders of record August 10. Apple also continues to emphasize an AI strategy that requires less capital spending than the infrastructure-heavy approach used by some peers. Apple Q3 financial results

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $308.91 on Monday. Apple has a 1-year low of $201.50 and a 1-year high of $344.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $309.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 8.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Apple Company Profile

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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