Wedbush Cuts Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $250.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Wedbush from $325.00 to $250.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the iPhone maker's stock. Wedbush's target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.33% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AAPL. Barclays boosted their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.26.

Apple Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of Apple stock traded up $7.48 on Monday, reaching $197.90. The company had a trading volume of 51,924,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,958,883. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $223.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.33. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Apple by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $787,631,000 after buying an additional 588,427 shares during the period. Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC now owns 12,232 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,850,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.3% during the third quarter. AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC now owns 18,816 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,384,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 8.7% in the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 117,896 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $27,470,000 after purchasing an additional 9,484 shares during the period. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 57,254 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,340,000 after purchasing an additional 5,493 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.