Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.4% – Here’s Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price was up 0.4% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $250.00 and last traded at $249.22. Approximately 8,342,247 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 57,136,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Apple Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.