Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 1.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price traded up 1.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $231.31 and last traded at $230.68. 8,273,031 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 60,293,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Melius Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.27.

Apple Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Apple by 88.9% during 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 last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the first quarter worth about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its stake in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.