Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $261.00 at Rosenblatt Securities

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target lifted by Rosenblatt Securities from $260.00 to $261.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cfra boosted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $234.29.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $219.86 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $213.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.24. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its position in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its position in Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.