Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 2.7% – Here’s Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped 2.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $220.01 and last traded at $221.41. Approximately 21,535,830 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 53,186,134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Apple to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Four 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

Apple Stock Down 2.6 %

The company has a market cap of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. 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 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.