Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 1.1% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $260.00 to $275.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $218.76 and last traded at $215.10. Approximately 14,029,188 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 52,733,532 shares. The stock had previously closed at $212.69.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.60.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 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.