Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Upgraded at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $195.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the topic of a number of other reports. DZ Bank reiterated a hold rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Redburn Partners downgraded shares of Apple to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a neutral rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $202.62.

Apple Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $173.50 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.77. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Apple will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Corporation grew its position in Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by 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.