Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 3.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares declined by 3.5% during Friday's trading, closing at $245.27 after reaching a low of $244.00.
• Despite the recent drop, several analysts have upgraded their ratings on Apple, with price targets ranging from $241.00 to $305.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insider transactions revealed significant sales by executives, including CEO Tim Cook selling nearly 130,000 shares, leading to a combined decrease in ownership of 3.81% by Cook and 23.94% by SVP Deirdre O'Brien.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) shares traded down 3.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $244.00 and last traded at $245.27. 60,176,470 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 56,685,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Melius Research set a $290.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.29.

Apple Price Performance

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 firm's 50-day moving average is $236.75 and its 200-day moving average is $215.77. The company has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 28.3% in the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the period. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.4% in the first 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 during the period. Andina Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Finally, Plum Street Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 4.0% in the first quarter. Plum Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,889 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,752,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.

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