Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price was down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $230.43 and last traded at $231.57. Approximately 9,151,950 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 56,898,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Apple Stock Down 2.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $241.26 and a 200-day moving average of $231.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $3,331,000. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 15,304 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 12.0% in the second quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,884 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,609,000 after buying an additional 2,339 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Apple by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,342,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $282,764,000 after acquiring an additional 17,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 147,028 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $30,967,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.