Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped 0.8% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $181.63 and last traded at $181.94. Approximately 27,973,332 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 61,634,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Redburn Partners lowered Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.78.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 26,797 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,588,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 101.9% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 700,836 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $120,086,000 after buying an additional 353,801 shares in the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 78,010 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,356,000 after buying an additional 5,870 shares during the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,492 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,193,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nikulski Financial Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 77,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,353,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

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.