Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 0.6%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fell 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $224.62 and last traded at $225.49. 6,592,560 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 61,257,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Moffett Nathanson began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.76.

Apple Trading Down 1.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its 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. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 24,534,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,723,672,000 after acquiring an additional 461,321 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 237,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $45,714,000 after purchasing an additional 2,773 shares during the period. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 127,590 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $24,565,000 after buying an additional 3,751 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 85,726 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,512 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 369,289 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $71,099,000 after acquiring an additional 25,252 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.