Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $169.65 and last traded at $170.64. 14,913,806 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 61,230,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Redburn Partners downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.27.

Apple Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $181.68 and a 200-day moving average of $182.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP boosted its position in shares of Apple by 200.0% in the third quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.