Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives $208.06 Average PT from Analysts

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $208.06.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Itau BBA Securities raised Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank raised Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 54,732 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,716,000. SRN Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,798,000. Bush Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,002,000. Finally, Jackson Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 197,961 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $33,946,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded down $2.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $214.29. 79,943,254 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 68,511,152. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $220.20. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $186.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Apple will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

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.