Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 0.4% Higher – Time to Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price shot up 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $223.39 and last traded at $222.93. 11,738,984 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 52,251,535 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.70.

Apple Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $230.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly 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%. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% 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.