Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 1.7%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price rose 1.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $216.49 and last traded at $216.10. Approximately 24,675,018 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 62,685,906 shares. The stock had previously closed at $212.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush raised their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.06.

Apple Trading Down 1.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $185.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.36.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share 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 given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,716,000. SRN Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 5.4% during the first quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,798,000. Bush Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,002,000. Finally, Jackson Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 2.5% during the first quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 197,961 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,946,000 after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Apple

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.