Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 0.2% - Here's Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) shares rose 0.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $250.39 and last traded at $250.18. Approximately 23,543,517 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 57,166,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Moffett Nathanson lowered their price objective on Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. New Street Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.78.

Apple Stock Up 1.9 %

The firm's fifty day moving average is $234.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.06. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Apple's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $60,958,000 after purchasing an additional 7,606 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,473,224,000 after purchasing an additional 126,210 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,928,110 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $406,099,000 after purchasing an additional 95,235 shares during the period. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 15.2% in the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 149,219 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,768,000 after purchasing an additional 19,670 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.