Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price was up 1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $245.05 and last traded at $243.99. Approximately 13,626,837 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 54,156,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $241.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Apple Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $240.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $231.41.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.