Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 1.3% – Should You Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) traded up 1.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $228.18 and last traded at $228.03. 7,986,869 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 58,445,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.51.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $227.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $110,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently 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.