Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) traded down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $241.89 and last traded at $242.78. 11,828,582 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 32,665,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Wedbush upped their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.03.

Apple Trading Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.94, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The business’s 50-day moving average is $238.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.69.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Citizens Financial Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 23,725 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,941,000 after buying an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 76.2% in the 4th quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 125,528 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $31,435,000 after acquiring an additional 54,297 shares during the last quarter. NRI Wealth Management LC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,259,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 230,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $57,777,000 after purchasing an additional 30,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 29,563 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,403,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.