Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 0.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after Maxim Group raised their price target on the stock to $215.00. Maxim Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $246.94 and last traded at $246.55. 10,006,311 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 52,243,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.83.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $240.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.29. The company has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

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.