Apple’s (AAPL) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

Wedbush restated their outperform rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $270.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.25.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $202.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.77.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 172.48%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.