Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 0.5% After Strong Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $212.95 and last traded at $213.64. Approximately 13,356,191 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 56,398,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $212.50.

The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Apple by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $787,631,000 after buying an additional 588,427 shares in the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,016,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.5% during the third quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Apple by 7.4% during the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 482,411 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $112,402,000 after purchasing an additional 33,187 shares during the period. Finally, Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 28,082 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,543,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.63.

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.