Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Here’s Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price rose 0.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $230.59 and last traded at $229.25. Approximately 8,255,212 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 55,200,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Apple Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.30. 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 has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 323,157 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $80,925,000 after purchasing an additional 7,741 shares during the last quarter. Allie Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Allie Family Office LLC now owns 3,631 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $907,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $312,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,098,333 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $276,995,000 after acquiring an additional 41,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group raised its stake in shares of Apple by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 31,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,965,000 after acquiring an additional 3,331 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.