Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Lowered to $210.00 at Morgan Stanley

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $210.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the topic of several other research reports. Redburn Atlantic lowered Apple from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Maxim Group started coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a hold rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $203.05.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $165.84 on Monday. Apple has a 1-year low of $162.80 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $174.24 and its 200-day moving average is $182.10. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Flagstone Financial Management increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. High Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Corporation increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

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.