Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives $234.29 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $234.29.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $217.53 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $216.27 and a 200-day moving average of $192.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 179,999 shares of company stock valued at $35,964,310 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by 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.