Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 1.3% – What’s Next?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $233.24 and last traded at $232.75. Approximately 11,027,177 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 58,038,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Moffett Nathanson lowered their price objective on Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.25.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $228.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 35.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Castellan Group raised its position in Apple by 206.9% in the 3rd quarter. Castellan Group now owns 5,782 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 3,898 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $1,290,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Apple by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,091,062 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $254,217,000 after acquiring an additional 250,514 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,383,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 42.1% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 513,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $119,709,000 after purchasing an additional 152,262 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.