Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.3%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $170.65 and last traded at $169.95. Approximately 12,614,839 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 60,829,035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Redburn Partners downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.34.

Apple Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.31. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP boosted its stake in Apple by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.