Brokerages Set Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) PT at $235.51

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $235.25.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $229.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.81. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.