Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $276.3868.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Melius Research set a $345.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $203.07 to $246.99 in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the second quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 1.8% during the second quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Uncommon Cents Investing LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 10,609 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,701,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $270.37 on Friday. Apple has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $277.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $248.34 and a 200-day moving average of $222.01.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

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.