Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.7% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) dropped 0.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $249.43 and last traded at $250.42. Approximately 39,460,684 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 57,133,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.47.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $238.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $228.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given 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 0.40%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, 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 transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 35.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 163,435 shares of company stock worth $39,376,002 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Penney Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the third quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 7,852 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,829,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. SK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth $3,304,000. SMART Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.6% in the third quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 14,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,397,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.6% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 73,945 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $17,229,000 after buying an additional 5,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.