Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares dropped 0.4% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $230.43 and last traded at $231.57. Approximately 9,151,950 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 56,898,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Raymond James upped their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

Apple Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $241.26 and its 200-day moving average is $231.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,331,000. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the second quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 15,304 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,223,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Fonville Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,884 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in Apple by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,342,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $282,764,000 after buying an additional 17,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 147,028 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $30,967,000 after acquiring an additional 2,472 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.