Maxim Group Issues Positive Forecast for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price increased by Maxim Group to $215.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Stock Target Advisor reports. They currently have a hold rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $245.55 on Friday. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $240.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.55.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after purchasing an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,272,653,000 after buying an additional 20,966,232 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% 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.