Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 0.8% Higher – What’s Next?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price was up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $213.43 and last traded at $211.33. Approximately 17,687,599 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 53,256,553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.22.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $234.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % 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. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.