Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Cut to $256.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by The Goldman Sachs Group from $259.00 to $256.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the iPhone maker's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.88.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $209.28. 38,183,408 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,813,393. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $215.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.31. Apple has a twelve month low of $169.11 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

About Apple

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.