Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 1.7% Higher

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $186.43 and last traded at $186.17. 19,367,391 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 61,430,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.11.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $172.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,154,899 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $198,042,000 after purchasing an additional 89,462 shares during the period. Rockport Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,087,000. PAX Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Apple by 5.9% during the first quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 14,185 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,432,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 290,550 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $49,824,000 after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 308,396 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $52,884,000 after acquiring an additional 15,160 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Company Profile

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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