Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.6% - Should You Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $199.70 and last traded at $200.85. 16,295,263 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 55,864,145 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

Apple Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $205.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.95. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Triune Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 98.8% in the 1st quarter. Triune Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,950 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 37,155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,253,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 14,017 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,114,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 89,997 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $19,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187,838 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $41,725,000 after purchasing an additional 26,772 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.