Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 2% After Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price shot up 2% on Wednesday after Rosenblatt Securities upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. Rosenblatt Securities now has a $260.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $196.00. Apple traded as high as $213.43 and last traded at $213.18. 17,405,223 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 64,819,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.07.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on AAPL. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.29.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 2.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $189.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.94.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

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