Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 1.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Apple's shares have decreased by 1.6%, trading last at $254.04, with a significant decline in trading volume of 33% from the average.
• Analysts have mixed views on Apple's stock, with target prices ranging from $200 to $290, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Apple recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.4%.

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) dropped 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $253.14 and last traded at $254.04. Approximately 38,063,320 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 56,622,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.29.

Apple Price Performance

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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $236.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock valued at $64,320,190 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its position in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 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.

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