Apple (AAPL) – Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) recently received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms:

• 4/1/2024 – Apple had its price target lowered by analysts at Loop Capital from $185.00 to $170.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 3/28/2024 – Apple had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at DZ Bank AG. They now have a $180.00 price target on the stock.
• 3/25/2024 – Apple had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at UBS Group AG. They now have a $190.00 price target on the stock.
• 3/22/2024 – Apple had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Morgan Stanley. They now have a $220.00 price target on the stock.
• 3/21/2024 – Apple had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Wedbush. They now have a $250.00 price target on the stock.
• 3/5/2024 – Apple had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Rosenblatt Securities. They now have a $189.00 price target on the stock.
• 2/28/2024 – Apple had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Wedbush. They now have a $250.00 price target on the stock.
• 2/16/2024 – Apple had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Citigroup Inc.. They now have a $225.00 price target on the stock.
• 2/12/2024 – Apple had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Wedbush. They now have a $250.00 price target on the stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $169.58 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $178.29 and its 200 day moving average is $182.37. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $159.78 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 253,915 shares of company stock worth $44,202,868 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Apple by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,615,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $456,728,000 after purchasing an additional 435,891 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Markel Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $210,752,000 after acquiring an additional 8,450 shares in the last quarter. Camden Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,305,000 after acquiring an additional 13,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $23,629,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.