Piper Sandler Reiterates Neutral Rating for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Piper Sandler reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $225.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research restated a buy rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Apple from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $237.30.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $229.00 on Tuesday. Apple has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The company has a market cap of $3.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $221.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.48.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 407,409 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $78,438,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323,639 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,310,000 after acquiring an additional 4,006 shares during the period. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,229,000. Smith Salley & Associates increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Smith Salley & Associates now owns 472,447 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $90,960,000 after purchasing an additional 13,039 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 9,270,449 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,795,668,000 after purchasing an additional 119,342 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.