Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given “Hold” Rating at UBS Group

UBS Group reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $190.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler Companies cut shares of Apple to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Apple from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Redburn Partners lowered shares of Apple to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $204.53.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $171.48 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.66. Apple has a twelve month low of $159.35 and a twelve month high of $199.62. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP lifted its holdings 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 worth $212,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.