Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 1.4% - Here's What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) traded up 1.4% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $231.31 and last traded at $230.68. 8,273,031 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 60,293,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. New Street Research reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Moffett Nathanson began coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.27.

Apple Stock Up 1.6 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $223.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,713,000. Golden Road Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $1,575,000. WT Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $80,057,000. Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth $11,776,000. Finally, Financial Life Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $212,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.