Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $229.84 and last traded at $230.49. 12,201,508 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 60,223,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.27.

Apple Trading Up 1.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $225.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. 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. Also, 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 transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $140,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. raised its position in Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. 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.