Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 1.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price traded up 1.5% during trading on Friday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $250.00 to $275.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $189.67 and last traded at $189.64. 11,231,541 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 60,482,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.88.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were 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 owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 371,270 shares of company stock worth $64,605,696 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.03.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.