Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Cut to $184.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $186.00 to $184.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AAPL. Piper Sandler Companies restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.23.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $222.91 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.64. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 145.09% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was 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 through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 417,924 shares of company stock valued at $94,142,399 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,249,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.3% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisory boosted its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Financial Advisory now owns 1,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Core Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by 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.