Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 0.3% - Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $230.08 and last traded at $229.20. Approximately 6,523,709 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 58,106,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI restated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.25.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $227.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $217.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share 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 company 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 business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the period. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position 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 worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company's stock.

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.