Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 0.4% – What’s Next?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price rose 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $224.45 and last traded at $224.04. Approximately 7,648,003 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 54,670,302 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.52.

Apple Trading Up 0.6 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $230.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.63, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 21.1% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $787,631,000 after buying an additional 588,427 shares in the last quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. McCarthy & Cox raised its position in Apple by 3.9% during the third quarter. McCarthy & Cox now owns 1,767 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Guardian Investment Management now owns 98,729 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $23,004,000 after purchasing an additional 6,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bright Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bright Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,767 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,907,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% 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.