Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given New $184.00 Price Target at Barclays

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Barclays to $184.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Stock Target Advisor reports. They currently have a sell rating on the iPhone maker's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $188.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reissued a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.64.

Apple Stock Down 2.4 %

Apple stock traded down $5.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $236.85. The stock had a trading volume of 61,642,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,857,012. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $240.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.95. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. 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 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.