Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $204.11.

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. Maxim Group assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price objective (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caliber Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,457 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,818,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 72.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,821 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 15,056 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 906,664 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $155,230,000 after purchasing an additional 62,513 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 52,566 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,000,000 after purchasing an additional 6,013 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Services of America Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 9,938 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $181.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.26, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.93%.

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.