Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $228.41 and last traded at $229.45. Approximately 9,269,097 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 59,630,438 shares. The stock had previously closed at $230.76.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $247.61 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Maxim Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.27.
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Apple Stock Down 0.1 %
The firm's 50 day moving average price is $226.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.48. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.86, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Apple Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.55%.
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $140,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Apple Company Profile
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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.
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