Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.5%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) shares fell 0.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $214.44 and last traded at $215.49. 26,613,064 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 62,950,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $216.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Apple from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.06.

Apple Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $185.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Apple's payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple 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 directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its stake in Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 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.