Citigroup Boosts Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $185.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPLFree Report) had its price objective upped by Citigroup to $185.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Stock Target Advisor reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler Companies reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Melius Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.91.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL

Apple Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $231.41 on Wednesday. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.62. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPLGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. 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 the SEC website. In other 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 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allied Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 82,976 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,229,000 after purchasing an additional 2,166 shares in the last quarter. Capital CS Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 111.6% in the first quarter. Capital CS Group LLC now owns 4,762 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 45,729 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 21,997 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Ballew Advisors Inc lifted its position in Apple by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Ballew Advisors Inc now owns 7,842 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in Apple by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 604,207 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $103,609,000 after acquiring an additional 83,222 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Company Profile

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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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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