Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 0.4% Higher

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $228.50 and last traded at $227.25. 11,558,228 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 61,729,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Maxim Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.76.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $222.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.39.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,986,000 after buying an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 132.8% during the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,283,000 after buying an additional 18,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $4,782,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.