Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.9%

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 0.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $164.82 and last traded at $165.58. 18,880,321 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 60,528,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.34.

Apple Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $175.15 and its 200 day moving average is $182.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 116,483.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 569,554,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $74,002,245,000 after buying an additional 569,066,184 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 14,395.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after purchasing an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Apple by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 138,461,076 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,657,911,000 after purchasing an additional 26,572,012 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Apple by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 208,655,323 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,110,586,000 after purchasing an additional 25,926,552 shares during the period. 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.