Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 3.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price dropped 3.7% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wedbush downgraded the stock from an outperform rating to a neutral rating. The stock traded as low as $202.16 and last traded at $205.44. Approximately 36,745,901 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 56,522,422 shares. The stock had previously closed at $213.32.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on AAPL. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.63.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.