Apple Inc. Expected to Post FY2024 Earnings of $6.69 Per Share (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Apple in a report issued on Tuesday, August 20th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now forecasts that the iPhone maker will earn $6.69 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $6.49. The consensus estimate for Apple's current full-year earnings is $6.61 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Apple's Q4 2024 earnings at $1.58 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.08 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.68 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.56 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.86 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.18 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.22 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.91 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.88 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.16 EPS.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on AAPL. Raymond James raised their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital raised Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.63.

Apple Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $1.87 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $224.53. The company had a trading volume of 43,666,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,449,250. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $220.03 and its 200-day moving average is $194.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 132.8% during the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,283,000 after buying an additional 18,615 shares during the period. Finally, Sunpointe LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $4,782,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 188,884 shares of company stock worth $38,092,387. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple's payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.