Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from a moderate sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on AAPL. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.47.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $258.45 on Monday. Apple has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $265.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $242.99 and its 200 day moving average is $218.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 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.