Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 0.3% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) dropped 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $211.85 and last traded at $212.30. Approximately 14,074,067 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 55,882,286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $212.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Maxim Group raised their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Trading Down 0.6%

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 company has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.37, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $206.28 and a 200 day moving average of $226.84.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $288,000. 5th Street Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 32.9% in the third quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank raised its holdings in Apple by 1.6% in the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 132,641 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $30,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at about $4,972,000. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,670,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.