Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after KeyCorp upgraded the stock from an underweight rating to a sector weight rating. The stock had previously closed at $198.15, but opened at $211.44. Apple shares last traded at $204.75, with a volume of 30,885,025 shares.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $202.33 to $167.88 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.85.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted 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 worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.3% in 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 boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $220.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

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.