Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 2.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price was down 2.5% on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $275.00 to $252.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Apple traded as low as $216.50 and last traded at $215.33. Approximately 17,911,270 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 53,226,081 shares. The stock had previously closed at $220.84.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on AAPL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.22.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $2,044,000. Lighthouse Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $2,943,000. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,269,000. SpringVest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,533,000. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC lifted its position in Apple by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 54,348 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,610,000 after buying an additional 10,494 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 2.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.