Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was down 1.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $244.80 and last traded at $245.71. Approximately 16,661,095 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 57,133,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.03.

Apple Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $238.91 and a 200 day moving average of $228.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.03, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.