Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $237.59, but opened at $247.19. Apple shares last traded at $242.12, with a volume of 14,807,085 shares trading hands.

The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.88.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

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.