Barclays Trims Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Target Price to $186.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $187.00 to $186.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Melius Research increased their price objective on Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Apple from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Cfra increased their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $234.29.

Apple Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $209.27 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $213.76 and a 200-day moving average of $191.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Ayalon Insurance Comp Ltd. grew its stake in Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Ayalon Insurance Comp Ltd. now owns 51,949 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,002,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Apple by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 184,781 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,576,000 after buying an additional 17,459 shares in the last quarter. Carlson Capital Management grew its stake in Apple by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 78,788 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,169,000 after buying an additional 7,271 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 57,793 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,127,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,160 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,657,000 after purchasing an additional 145 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.