Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 0.1% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price traded up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $300.00 to $325.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $260.10 and last traded at $258.56. 8,958,527 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 57,273,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.20.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $237.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.