Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $300.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective upped by Monness Crespi & Hardt from $270.00 to $300.00 in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $245.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.39.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $270.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $248.34 and its 200-day moving average is $222.34. 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 cap of $4.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.03, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Insider Activity at Apple

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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its position in Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.