Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 0.4%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price rose 0.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $171.34 and last traded at $170.52. Approximately 13,698,926 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 60,028,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.05.

Apple Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $173.30 and its 200 day moving average is $181.85.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% 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.