Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $238.62.

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Raymond James raised their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $220.82 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $223.09 and its 200 day moving average is $197.15. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 1,643 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 132.8% during the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after buying an additional 18,615 shares during the period. Finally, Sunpointe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,782,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.