Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 4.6% Higher - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Apple Inc. shares rose by 4.6% during trading, reaching a high of $212.27, with a total of approximately 30 million shares exchanged.
• Analysts have provided varying ratings for Apple, with a mix of buy, hold, and sell ratings, and an average target price of $237.25.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share and has authorized a stock repurchase program worth $100 billion.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 4.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $212.27 and last traded at $212.19. 30,166,840 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 56,831,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.60.

Apple Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $205.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. 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.