Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 1.3%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $189.96 and last traded at $189.84. 20,578,028 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 61,487,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.52, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.26. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $172.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company's stock.

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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