Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 3.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Apple's shares increased by 3.1% after Bank of America raised their price target from $240 to $250 and maintained a buy rating.
• The company's latest earnings report showed $1.57 EPS and $94.04 billion in revenue, surpassing analyst expectations.
• Apple has initiated a $100 billion share buyback program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 3.1% on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $240.00 to $250.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $220.33 and last traded at $219.89. 37,196,666 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 57,225,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $213.25.

AAPL has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.60.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 3.0%

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $205.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.24.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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