Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $206.47 and last traded at $207.63. 10,971,515 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 55,784,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.78.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Apple
Apple Stock Down 0.8%
The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.26. The company has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.
Apple announced that its board has initiated a share 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Activity at Apple
In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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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