Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives $243.65 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, twenty-one have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $243.65.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its stake in shares of Apple by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $59,122,000 after acquiring an additional 28,799 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

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Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $2.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $220.73. 44,224,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 52,670,034. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $231.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

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.