Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $314.5882.

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $289.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.98. Apple has a one year low of $196.85 and a one year high of $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. PVG Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 208.0% in the first quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 9,571 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,429,000 after acquiring an additional 6,464 shares in the last quarter. Steelhead Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,033,000. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd boosted its stake in Apple by 13.2% in the first quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 45,475 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,541,000 after acquiring an additional 5,301 shares in the last quarter. S&A Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,836,000. Finally, LFG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 20.6% in the first quarter. LFG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,106 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,417,000 after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned price increases could protect margins as memory and storage costs rise, and Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of upcoming AI-focused devices and a second-generation iPhone Air support confidence in Apple’s product pipeline and longer-term growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s planned price hikes may help earnings, but they could also pressure demand if consumers balk at higher handset prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple opening Brazil’s App Store to alternative marketplaces reduces regulatory friction there, but it also underscores ongoing global platform scrutiny. Article Title

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.