Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $184.00 at Barclays

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price boosted by Barclays to $184.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm currently has a sell rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. KeyCorp lowered Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush increased their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.85.

Apple Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $236.85 on Friday. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $240.18 and a 200-day moving average of $229.95. The company has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. 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 data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. 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 currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. 67.73% 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.