Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares traded down 1.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $227.51 and last traded at $227.52. 10,877,171 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 59,113,352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $230.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Maxim Group raised their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp cut Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.23.

Apple Trading Down 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $227.18 and its 200 day moving average is $212.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.22%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Sar Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.8% in the first quarter. Sar Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 10,402 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the first quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 45,212 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,753,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 418,593 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $71,780,000 after purchasing an additional 3,057 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 15.0% during the first quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 23,000 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ERn Financial LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 2.0% during the first quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 41,893 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,184,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is 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.