Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Upgraded to “Outperform” by Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has $195.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a buy rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $202.62.

Apple Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $173.50 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $172.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.77. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, 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 value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

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

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.