Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 0.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price traded down 0.4% on Tuesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $275.00 to $245.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Apple traded as low as $199.80 and last traded at $201.73. 16,336,654 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 56,797,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.52.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AAPL. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $221.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.79. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.