Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $242.52.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $232.47 on Thursday. Apple has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $241.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.95. 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 $3.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Apple will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

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.