Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 0.4% – Should You Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price shot up 0.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $235.89 and last traded at $235.79. 6,112,714 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 57,992,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $234.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Maxim Group upped their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.68.

Apple Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $228.83 and a 200 day moving average of $219.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.78, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 35.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 127.4% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after buying an additional 42,282 shares in the last quarter. Investments & Financial Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 13.4% in the first quarter. Investments & Financial Planning LLC now owns 2,969 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the first quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,174 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,889,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 470,790 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $80,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 26,928 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,618,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.