Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.3%

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $183.86 and last traded at $183.35. Approximately 12,234,890 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 61,646,535 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Redburn Partners downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.11.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds 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 grew its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Company Profile

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.