Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Outlook for Apple Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q1 2027 earnings per share estimates for Apple in a report issued on Tuesday, October 21st. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the iPhone maker will earn $2.25 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.24. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $7.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Apple’s FY2027 earnings at $8.03 EPS.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. 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 report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.47.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $259.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.56. Apple has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $265.29.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the period. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares during the period. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 209.2% during the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.