Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given Hold Rating at DZ Bank

DZ Bank reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. DZ Bank currently has a $180.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on AAPL. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a neutral rating and a $166.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an overweight rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a neutral rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Apple from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies cut shares of Apple to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $204.53.

Apple Stock Down 1.1 %

AAPL opened at $171.48 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple has a 1-year low of $159.35 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% 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.