Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $273.00 to $275.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $236.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.82, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $241.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.84.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted 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 worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. 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.