Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price traded up 1.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $231.31 and last traded at $230.68. 8,273,031 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 60,293,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Loop Capital upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Moffett Nathanson assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.27.

Apple Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $223.62 and a 200-day moving average of $206.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.83, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after purchasing an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 23,076.4% in the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,584,512,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200,345 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 14,145.8% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Apple by 158.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

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.