Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Earns "Buy" Rating from Rosenblatt Securities

Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $262.00 price objective on the iPhone maker's stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.05.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded up $7.99 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $230.77. 58,070,354 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,244,086. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the 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 owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,249,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,566,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 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.