Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 0.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price rose 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $250.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $216.07 and last traded at $214.48. Approximately 15,950,208 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 64,689,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $214.10.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted 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 during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.13 and a 200-day moving average of $185.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.