Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 0.8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $251.02 and last traded at $250.09. 15,945,340 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 57,123,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Moffett Nathanson dropped their target price on Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Apple to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.78.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.19, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 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 firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Financial Advisory boosted its stake in Apple by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Financial Advisory now owns 1,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by 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.