Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 1.1% Higher – What’s Next?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $262.16 and last traded at $258.86. 29,086,871 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 47,333,914 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.92.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Phillip Securities upgraded Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.23.

Get Our Latest Research Report on AAPL

Apple Stock Up 2.1%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 3.7% during the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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