Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 2.7% - Should You Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $235.47 and last traded at $236.15. 17,009,538 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 39,041,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $242.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.64.

Apple Trading Down 2.4 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.96, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 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.