Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 1%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares traded down 1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $225.13 and last traded at $226.61. 16,988,564 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 64,005,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Cfra increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $196.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Melius Research increased their price objective on Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.69.

Apple Trading Down 2.1 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.24, a P/E/G 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 19,005 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,003,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP increased its position in Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Corporation grew its stake in Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 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.