Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 3.4%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price traded down 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $224.53 and last traded at $225.17. 20,721,217 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 61,471,402 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Erste Group Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. DA Davidson raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler Companies restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.76.

Apple Stock Down 3.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.10, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Apple by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 132.8% during the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after buying an additional 18,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $4,782,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.