Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $255.65 and last traded at $253.79, with a volume of 6867840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Apple Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $234.97 and a 200 day moving average of $225.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.78, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SMART Wealth LLC grew its position in Apple by 3.6% during the third quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 14,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,397,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS lifted its position in shares of Apple by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 73,945 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $17,229,000 after acquiring an additional 5,231 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. now owns 5,831 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL increased its position in shares of Apple by 23.6% during the third quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 24,462 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,700,000 after purchasing an additional 4,675 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.