Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 0.7% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) traded up 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $226.92 and last traded at $226.59. 10,236,485 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 58,564,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Cfra increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Melius Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.51.

Apple Stock Up 1.5 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.52. The company has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $110,000. 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.