Analysts Set Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target at $243.65

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $243.65.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its position in shares of Apple by 12.8% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $218.27 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.42. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

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.