Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $261.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target increased by Barclays from $245.00 to $261.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Maxim Group upped their price target on Apple from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.74.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $344.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $335.46 and a 200-day moving average of $298.03. Apple has a 52 week low of $243.42 and a 52 week high of $355.38. The company has a market capitalization of $5.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.67, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 9.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total value of $15,467,020.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $45,615,190.20. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total value of $806,495.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,992 shares in the company, valued at $14,116,870.56. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 291,651 shares of company stock worth $97,082,537. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Avenir Tech Ltd bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $376,168,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue of $114.5 billion and solid iPhone and Mac demand. The results support the view that product demand remains healthy. Apple shares fell despite a double beat in Q4
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its price target to $380 and kept a Buy rating, citing potential upside from Apple’s business prospects. Bernstein rating and price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking up to $7 billion through a bond offering. The borrowing adds financing flexibility, but the reports did not specify how proceeds would be used. Apple seeks about $7 billion from bond sale
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged memory-chip costs that could keep rising, along with supply constraints ahead of the December quarter. These pressures may weigh on margins even as demand remains strong. Supply constraints and rising memory costs
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also scrutinizing earnings quality: tariff refunds boosted reported profit metrics, making the underlying results less straightforward to assess. Investors revisit Apple earnings quality
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and valuation concerns add to the headwinds. DZ Bank cut Apple to Sell, while coverage also points to slower Services growth and a premium share valuation. DZ Bank downgrades Apple

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.