Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 0%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price traded down 0% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $191.98 and last traded at $192.29. 7,611,988 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 60,796,953 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 price target (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.44.

Apple Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $175.55 and a 200-day moving average of $182.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 371,270 shares of company stock worth $64,605,696. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 22.5% in the third quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. now owns 7,854 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.1% during the third quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 30,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,248,000 after buying an additional 2,287 shares during the last quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,277 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,681 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,829,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.