Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.5% – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $217.49 and last traded at $216.35. 8,786,211 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 52,705,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $215.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $231.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Company Profile

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.