Apple Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 1,423,490 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 28% compared to the average volume of 1,110,504 call options.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $216.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $184.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $220.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.47.

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.