Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 1.3% - Should You Buy?

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) traded up 1.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $232.29 and last traded at $231.11. 28,830,956 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 46,130,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $184.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. New Street Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $239.85.

Apple Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $241.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.72.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71,990 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,774,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. FCG Investment Co raised its stake in shares of Apple by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 56,272 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,092,000 after buying an additional 4,565 shares during the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,195 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,052,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Verde Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 7,152 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,791,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, Seros Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $1,484,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.