Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) traded up 0.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $195.75 and last traded at $195.27. 11,087,021 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 59,719,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $194.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $216.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 price target (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.59.

View Our Latest Analysis on AAPL

Apple Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $179.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.43.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Apple

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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