Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 2.5% – Time to Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped 2.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $231.16 and last traded at $231.96. Approximately 16,430,465 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 42,383,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $237.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.85.

Apple Trading Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $240.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.56.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.