Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) PT Raised to $230.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target boosted by Bank of America from $225.00 to $230.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on AAPL. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $204.11.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $181.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.26, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.72. Apple has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $199.62.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 14,395.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC boosted its position in Apple by 23,076.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,815,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331,439 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.