Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose 0.2% during trading on Tuesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $250.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $220.32 and last traded at $218.75. Approximately 9,325,747 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 63,172,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $218.24.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Apple from $238.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Apple from $216.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.97.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were 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 owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% in 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. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $211.38 and a 200-day moving average of $190.36.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.