Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.2%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) traded down 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $168.47 and last traded at $168.64. 15,167,415 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 60,150,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business’s 50 day moving average is $173.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.94. The company has a market cap of $2.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its position in Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.