Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.4%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares shot up 0.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $171.34 and last traded at $170.52. 13,698,926 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 60,028,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.05.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.81. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 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 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Company Profile

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.