Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price shot up 0.7% on Monday after Maxim Group raised their price target on the stock to $215.00. Maxim Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $248.86 and last traded at $247.30. 16,278,520 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 52,396,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.55.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.12, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.