Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Lowered to “Hold” at Loop Capital

Loop Capital downgraded shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. Loop Capital currently has $180.00 target price on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $174.74.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $172.99 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $166.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Apple has a 12-month low of $124.17 and a 12-month high of $176.39.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The company had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.30%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $90.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $7,215,515.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,444 shares in the company, valued at $22,569,202.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $7,215,515.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,569,202.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 439,529 shares of company stock worth $71,703,657. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MKT Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the second quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the first quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,076 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 16,091 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,653,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Adaptive Financial Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Adaptive Financial Consulting LLC now owns 2,606 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the first quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,644 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.