Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 1.7% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares traded up 1.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $239.42 and last traded at $240.87. 12,178,689 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 54,154,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $236.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. 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. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $240.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.59.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. 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 institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Generate Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Apple by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 255,335 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,779,000 after acquiring an additional 49,673 shares in the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD grew its stake in Apple by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 80,060 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,862,000 after purchasing an additional 7,799 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.2% in the second quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 91.1% in the second quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 22,152 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,666,000 after buying an additional 10,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.2% in the second quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 13,833 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,914,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.