Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 0.2%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fell 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $181.45 and last traded at $181.99. 11,528,197 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 61,826,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

Apple Stock Performance

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

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 154,389 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,433,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 3.6% during the third quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. now owns 33,941 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network lifted its position in Apple by 54.7% during the third quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 41,817 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,159,000 after buying an additional 14,784 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lifted its position in Apple by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 3,696 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the third quarter. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by 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.