Apple's (AAPL) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

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

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $170.62 to $188.32 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.95.

Apple Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $1.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $211.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 48,663,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,497,482. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $203.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.08. Apple has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Insider Activity at Apple

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its holdings 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 valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. JBGlobal.com LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $2,302,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. grew its position in Apple by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 30,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,513,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.