Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Lowered to $183.00 at Barclays

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Barclays from $184.00 to $183.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the iPhone maker's stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AAPL. New Street Research restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $238.14.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $223.66. 60,167,077 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,194,383. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $241.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.77. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Apple

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.