Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Upgraded to “Market Perform” at Itau BBA Securities

Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $188.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock, up from their prior price target of $162.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler Companies downgraded shares of Apple to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Apple from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. UBS Group reissued a hold rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Redburn Partners downgraded shares of Apple to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $204.00.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $10.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $183.38. 163,224,109 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 59,692,680. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $172.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.57. Apple has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 149,874 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,701,000 after buying an additional 2,175 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 11.9% in the first quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 25,764 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,418,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.0% in the first quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 367,082 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,947,000 after purchasing an additional 7,091 shares in the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 24,932 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,276,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 5,497 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.