Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Moffett Nathanson

Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $211.00 price objective on the iPhone maker's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AAPL. Melius Research raised their target price on shares of Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Apple from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $233.63.

Apple Trading Down 0.1 %

Apple stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $225.89. The stock had a trading volume of 40,646,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,943,316. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. Analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm'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 $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by 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.