Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 0.8% – Here’s Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price was up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $251.02 and last traded at $250.09. Approximately 15,945,340 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 57,123,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Maxim Group increased their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.78.

Apple Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SMART Wealth LLC raised its position in Apple by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 14,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS increased its position in Apple by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 73,945 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,229,000 after purchasing an additional 5,231 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. now owns 5,831 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 24,462 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,700,000 after acquiring an additional 4,675 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.