Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 8.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) traded down 8.7% on Thursday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $265.00 to $250.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Apple traded as low as $202.52 and last traded at $204.34. 39,048,828 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 54,755,872 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.89.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine 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 MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its holdings in Apple by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after acquiring an additional 28,799 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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 $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $230.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.36.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

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.