Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 4.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 4.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $265.00 to $260.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Apple traded as low as $220.60 and last traded at $220.59. Approximately 30,259,480 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 47,950,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.98.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. New Street Research restated a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Loop Capital cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.02.

Insider Transactions at Apple

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

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $241.12 and a 200-day moving average of $230.85. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

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.