Morgan Stanley Increases Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $240.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has increased Apple's price target from $235.00 to $240.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.62% from the current stock price.
• Apple's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $1.57 earnings per share and revenue of $94.04 billion, a 9.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company initiated a $100 billion stock buyback plan, indicating the board believes the stock is undervalued.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $235.00 to $240.00 in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the iPhone maker's stock.

AAPL has been the topic of several other research reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.25.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded down $5.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $202.38. 97,423,066 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,912,472. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.60. Apple has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 172.48% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

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.