Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 0.6% – Should You Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price fell 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $228.41 and last traded at $229.45. 9,269,097 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 59,630,438 shares. The stock had previously closed at $230.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Loop Capital raised their target price on Apple to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Cfra raised their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.27.

Apple Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smith Salley Wealth Management raised its holdings in Apple by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 390,796 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $91,056,000 after acquiring an additional 32,810 shares during the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 217,230 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $50,614,000 after buying an additional 7,205 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 890,979 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $207,598,000 after buying an additional 4,312 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at $524,000. Finally, Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp grew its position in Apple by 3.1% during the third quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 57,093 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.