Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.4%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $228.24 and last traded at $228.08. 10,629,581 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 61,788,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Loop Capital raised Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.51.

Apple Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $220.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.75.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. ABLE Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 45,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Boit C F David boosted its position in Apple by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Boit C F David now owns 30,002 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,528,000 after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 63,689 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,262,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Apple by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 820,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $157,909,000 after acquiring an additional 89,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Detalus Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 20,601 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,966,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently 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.