Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $233.81 and last traded at $234.93. Approximately 33,471,141 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 58,223,145 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.68.

Apple Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $229.02 and its 200-day moving average is $219.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 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 have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Trust raised its position in shares of Apple by 7.1% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 77,292 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,009,000 after buying an additional 5,118 shares during the last quarter. Castellan Group raised its position in shares of Apple by 206.9% in the third quarter. Castellan Group now owns 5,782 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after buying an additional 3,898 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $1,290,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Apple by 29.8% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,091,062 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $254,217,000 after purchasing an additional 250,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth about $35,383,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.