Robert W. Baird Issues Positive Forecast for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective upped by Robert W. Baird from $310.00 to $330.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AAPL. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $364.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.40.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $333.02 on Friday. Apple has a 1-year low of $201.50 and a 1-year high of $334.99. The stock has a market cap of $4.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $306.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $279.01.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in Apple by 890.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,413,990,000 after acquiring an additional 37,746,784 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford said it will embed Apple Maps into upcoming EVs, expanding Apple’s software reach and reinforcing the value of its ecosystem. Ford Embeds Apple Maps Directly into Upcoming EVs
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Apple and reiterated an Outperform rating, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Apple as outperforming the broader market, supported by strong ratings and a favorable chart setup ahead of earnings. Why is Apple stock outperforming the broader market?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also the subject of discussion around upcoming product launches, AI features, and a possible device-leasing program, which could support demand but remain unconfirmed or longer-term in nature.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted concerns that Apple’s valuation is stretched heading into earnings, and insider sales plus short-interest chatter may temper enthusiasm if results disappoint.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.