Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 6.1% – Here’s What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was down 6.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $273.75 and last traded at $275.15. Approximately 106,615,191 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 120% from the average session volume of 48,542,605 shares. The stock had previously closed at $293.08.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly planning an AI-focused custom chip for 2027, which could strengthen its in-house silicon strategy and support future product performance. Apple (AAPL) to Release AI-Focused Microchip in 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted Apple’s aggressive capital returns, noting that buybacks remain a major pillar of shareholder value creation. 850 Billion Reasons (and Counting) Why Investors Love Apple Stock

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.85.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $291.83 and its 200-day moving average is $273.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in Apple by 890.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after acquiring an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Company Profile

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.