Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 0.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock to $236.00. UBS Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $225.21 and last traded at $224.38. Approximately 12,390,785 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 58,613,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $224.23.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AAPL. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Cfra boosted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 35.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 404,040 shares of company stock worth $91,062,512 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,335,435,000 after buying an additional 1,742,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 58,615,053 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,657,308,000 after buying an additional 1,112,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $226.84 and its 200-day moving average is $215.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

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.