Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $255.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective hoisted by Citigroup from $210.00 to $255.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AAPL. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson upgraded Apple from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Apple from $216.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Cfra lifted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $234.29.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $205.48 on Friday. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Apple will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.