Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.23.

Apple Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $222.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $227.18 and a 200 day moving average of $212.33. The company has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.15. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple will post 6.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 387.3% during the second quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 24,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,128,000 after acquiring an additional 19,352 shares during the period. Gentry Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $876,000. WT Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $80,057,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 16,745,201 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,526,874,000 after buying an additional 1,557,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $11,776,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.