Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) PT Raised to $225.00 at Piper Sandler

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective boosted by Piper Sandler from $190.00 to $225.00 in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Apple from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays reiterated an underweight rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a buy rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Bank of America restated a buy rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $218.43.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $227.57 on Tuesday. Apple has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $233.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $202.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth 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. 60.41% of the stock is currently 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.