Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose 1.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $296.59 and last traded at $294.38. Approximately 49,883,612 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 50,549,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $289.36.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS says iPhone demand is improving in several key markets, and other commentary points to Apple heading into a stronger second half, which supports sentiment around the stock. Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone Demand Is Improving, But AI Isn’t the Reason Why
• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to get support from Wall Street-friendly narratives, including renewed AI expansion plans, bullish analyst coverage, and mentions of the stock as a top growth name. Apple’s AI Expansion Aims to Boost Services Momentum: What’s Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: The Supreme Court agreed to hear Apple’s appeal in the Epic Games case, which gives Apple a chance to challenge a lower-court contempt ruling tied to App Store payment rules. Russia warns Apple of $52 million fine over alleged bias against local apps
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple and its partners remain in focus after multiple cybersecurity reports, including a breach at Tata Electronics and claims that Apple’s Hide My Email feature may expose real addresses. These headlines add reputational risk, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Apple’s Hide My Email feature has a bug that’s been exposing real email addresses, researcher claims
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple is exploring Chinese memory supply to ease component shortages could help margins if approved, but the move also highlights how severe the memory crunch has become and keeps geopolitical risk in view. Could Apple’s China Play Be the Answer to Its Memory Pressure Problem?
• Negative Sentiment: Apple has raised prices on Macs and iPads because of higher memory costs, raising concerns that margin pressure and weaker unit demand could continue if the memory shortage persists. Apple Is Raising Prices Due to Higher Memory Costs. Is the Stock in Trouble?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure is intensifying, with the U.K. CMA and Russia both targeting Apple over app-store fees and local-app treatment, which could pressure future services revenue and profitability. UK targets Apple, Google app store fees for developers

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

Apple Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $293.26 and its 200 day moving average is $273.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marathon Mission Inc. increased its position in Apple by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. now owns 4,871 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 83.8% during the second quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC now owns 2,341 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 122,587 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,472,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Adelphi Trust Co grew its position in Apple by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Adelphi Trust Co now owns 26,942 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its stake in Apple by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,165,437 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $337,231,000 after purchasing an additional 50,146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.