JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $280.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has raised its price target for Apple stock from $255.00 to $280.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.71% from its previous closing price.
• Apple has received several positive upgrades from various analysts, with projections reaching as high as $305.00 from Tigress Financial and a consensus target price of $242.74.
• Apple's recent earnings report showed a revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 9.6% year-over-year increase.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the iPhone maker's stock.

AAPL has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.03.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $9.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $254.72. The stock had a trading volume of 71,655,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,369,516. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $224.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.10. Apple has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.61, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.