Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 0.1% - Here's What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $198.13 and last traded at $196.48. 12,280,510 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 55,933,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wedbush downgraded shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.80.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $208.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, 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 value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $311,157,662,000 after buying an additional 5,005,297 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after acquiring an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. 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.