Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) PT Raised to $225.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $210.00 to $225.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. DZ Bank reissued a hold rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a neutral rating and set a $196.00 price objective (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Maxim Group assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a hold rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple Trading Up 6.0 %

Apple stock opened at $183.38 on Friday. Apple has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.67.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 153.25% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.93%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,394,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,010 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14,395.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Apple by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,677,190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

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.