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

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $172.25.

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Apple to $167.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 1st. UBS Group set a $180.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Thursday, December 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, November 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Apple from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Apple from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 8,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.45, for a total value of $1,147,149.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,414,510.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 8,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.45, for a total value of $1,147,149.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,414,510.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 176,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.95, for a total value of $27,493,829.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 110,673 shares in the company, valued at $17,259,454.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 204,552 shares of company stock valued at $31,645,123. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Grassi Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 351,220 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $45,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares in the last quarter. Kwmg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 10,606 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 28,798 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,742,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank grew its holdings in Apple by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 153,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $19,908,000 after buying an additional 16,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA grew its holdings in Apple by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 60,315 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,837,000 after buying an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.4 %

AAPL opened at $130.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.88. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $124.17 and a fifty-two week high of $179.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $139.75 and a 200-day moving average of $148.44.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The iPhone maker reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.90% and a net margin of 25.31%. The company had revenue of $90.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple will post 6.19 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 7th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 4th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.06%.

About Apple

(Get Rating)

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. It also sells various related services. In addition, 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.