Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 0.1%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price was down 0.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $228.54 and last traded at $229.46. Approximately 10,319,604 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 61,442,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.30.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $221.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 132.8% during the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,283,000 after acquiring an additional 18,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $4,782,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.