Apple’s (AAPL) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Rosenblatt Securities

Rosenblatt Securities reissued their neutral rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a $196.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $189.00.

AAPL has been the topic of several other reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. DZ Bank reissued a hold rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler Companies lowered Apple to a neutral rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Maxim Group initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a hold rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $204.11.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $183.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $172.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.67. 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 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 153.25% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 14.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.