Oppenheimer Boosts Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $250.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target hoisted by Oppenheimer from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays reiterated an underweight rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a buy rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. UBS Group reiterated a neutral rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, DZ Bank reissued a hold rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Apple Stock Down 1.6 %

AAPL opened at $210.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $192.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.31. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $220.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 247,087 shares of company stock valued at $44,016,111. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 54,892 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,398,000 after purchasing an additional 14,247 shares in the last quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC grew its stake in Apple by 2.0% during the third quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 213,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,527,000 after buying an additional 4,089 shares in the last quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 6,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the period. Ardent Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ardent Capital Management Inc. now owns 146,059 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,007,000 after buying an additional 3,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 928,730 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $159,008,000 after acquiring an additional 26,402 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.