Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Earns Outperform Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their outperform rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $270.00 price target on the iPhone maker's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.27.

Apple Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $211.16. 39,713,698 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,392,160. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $203.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.73. Apple has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.