Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) PT Raised to $275.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price increased by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $265.00 to $275.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 25.94% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $196.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.97.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $218.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.00. The company has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at $35,000. 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 buying an additional 118 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.