Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 0.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) were up 0.3% on Friday after Maxim Group raised their price target on the stock to $215.00. Maxim Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $246.94 and last traded at $246.55. Approximately 10,006,311 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 52,243,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.83.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on AAPL. Citigroup boosted their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Apple to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.85.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Counterweight Ventures LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 2.3% during the second quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC now owns 30,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,430,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at about $3,907,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Apple by 27.4% in the second quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,991 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,658 shares during the last quarter. Lynch & Associates IN grew its position in Apple by 3.1% in the second quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 47,860 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 41.5% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 424,428 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $89,393,000 after acquiring an additional 124,488 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

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.