Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Cut to $245.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target cut by analysts at Citigroup from $275.00 to $245.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.92% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $202.33 to $167.88 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.85.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $4.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $202.61. 89,706,018 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,949,819. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd 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. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.