Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives “Buy” Rating from Citigroup

Citigroup reiterated their buy rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $255.00 target price on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AAPL. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Maxim Group raised their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Melius Research reiterated a buy rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $234.51.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $228.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $220.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. Apple’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 188,884 shares of company stock worth $38,092,387. 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 bought and sold shares of the business. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 407,409 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $78,438,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323,639 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,310,000 after buying an additional 4,006 shares in the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $83,229,000. Smith Salley & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Smith Salley & Associates now owns 472,447 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $90,960,000 after acquiring an additional 13,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 9,270,449 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,795,668,000 after acquiring an additional 119,342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.