Apple’s (AAPL) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at UBS Group

UBS Group reissued their neutral rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $190.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on AAPL. Barclays reiterated an underweight rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Apple from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Melius Research increased their target price on Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $221.55 on Monday. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $221.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $195.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.85.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Apple will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,986,000 after buying an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,236,000 after buying an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,406,000. Finally, Barden Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 132.8% in the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after acquiring an additional 18,615 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.