Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 2.8%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price traded down 2.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $226.64 and last traded at $228.23. 19,231,219 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 64,091,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $234.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Melius Research upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Apple from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $216.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.77.

Apple Trading Down 2.7 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its position in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its stake in Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. 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.