Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $305.00

Key Points

• Tigress Financial has increased its price target for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from $300.00 to $305.00, indicating a potential upside of 28.07% from the current price and maintaining a "strong-buy" rating.
• Apple reported earnings of $1.57 per share for its last quarter, beating estimates and generating revenue of $94.04 billion, which is up 9.6% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple's stock, with several firms, like WT Wealth Management and American Trust, recently increasing their positions in the company.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Tigress Financial from $300.00 to $305.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "strong-buy" rating on the iPhone maker's stock. Tigress Financial's price target would indicate a potential upside of 24.24% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $242.74.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $7.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $245.50. The stock had a trading volume of 163,435,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,568,860. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $224.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% 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.