Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the iPhone maker's stock.
Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James increased their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $232.63.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Apple
Apple Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.29 on Monday, hitting $212.50. 51,580,694 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,564,781. The company's 50 day moving average price is $214.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. 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 has a one year low of $169.11 and a one year high of $260.10.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Research analysts expect 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, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's payout ratio is 15.87%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01 % 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. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Apple
(
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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.
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