Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given New $230.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.39.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $201.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $202.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.53.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

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.