Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 5.3% - Time to Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $211.27 and last traded at $208.70. 26,085,636 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 55,983,153 shares. The stock had previously closed at $198.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.80.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $207.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.09. The company has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 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.