Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 0.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 0.4% on Tuesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $275.00 to $245.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Apple traded as low as $199.80 and last traded at $201.73. Approximately 16,336,654 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 56,797,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.52.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $219.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.08. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Apple's dividend payout ratio 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.