JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $280.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.05% from the stock’s previous close.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.74.

Apple Trading Up 3.2%

AAPL opened at $245.50 on Friday. Apple has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $224.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Baker Boyer National Bank raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,695,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Beddow Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.