Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price dropped 1.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $278.59 and last traded at $280.70. Approximately 42,607,820 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 55,198,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $284.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research set a $345.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, October 27th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.53.

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

The firm has a market cap of $4.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $265.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 209.2% during the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the second quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.