Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.3%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $191.10 and last traded at $190.33. Approximately 16,476,485 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 61,542,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.39. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. 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. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Flagstone Financial Management boosted its position in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. High Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation raised its position in Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.