Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 2.5%

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 2.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $219.36 and last traded at $219.49. 13,654,647 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 63,639,789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Cfra increased their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Apple from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Melius Research raised their price target on Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.62.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $210.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $189.84.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Brown Financial Advisory increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the second quarter. Brown Financial Advisory now owns 1,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the second quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 19,005 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,003,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Altus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,508 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagstone Financial Management boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.