Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $184.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price upped by Barclays to $184.00 in a research report released on Friday,Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm currently has a sell rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.85.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $236.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $240.18 and a 200-day moving average of $230.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apple will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.