Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 1.3% – Should You Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $228.27 and last traded at $229.68. Approximately 11,680,795 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 57,793,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $241.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.97.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 458,798 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $114,892,000 after purchasing an additional 24,852 shares in the last quarter. Warburton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,293,000. Cascade Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 187,931 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $47,062,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,739,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in Apple by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 632,279 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,335,000 after buying an additional 161,715 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.