Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AAPL. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Apple from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI reiterated a buy rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $234.29.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.93 on Wednesday, hitting $216.24. 42,201,646 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 63,734,754. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 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 has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $215.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 179,999 shares of company stock worth $35,964,310. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,986,000 after buying an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Apple by 132.8% during the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,283,000 after buying an additional 18,615 shares during the period. Finally, Sunpointe LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,782,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.