Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Sets New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Apple's shares hit a new 52-week high of $263.43 with significant trading volume of over 38 million shares.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook, with four ratings as Strong Buy and a target price from Sanford C. Bernstein set at $290.00.
• Apple recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26, representing an annualized yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $263.20 and last traded at $263.43, with a volume of 38944522 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $252.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. CLSA raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.47.

Apple Stock Up 3.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.79, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its 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 170.91% 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. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Avid Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the period. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust grew its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $40,107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 209.2% in the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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