Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) was up 0% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $206.78 and last traded at $206.88. Approximately 11,440,539 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 55,777,517 shares. The stock had previously closed at $206.86.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Argus raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.
Read Our Latest Research Report on AAPL
Apple Stock Performance
The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $205.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.
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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.
Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Transactions at Apple
In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Carrera Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in Apple by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 10,367 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405 shares during the period. RPG Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Apple by 2.0% in the third quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 135,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $31,655,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares during the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners raised its position in Apple by 1.5% during the third quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners now owns 12,300 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lifted its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the third quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 216,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $50,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 34,856 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,121,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.
About Apple
(
Get Free Report)
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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