Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 0.3% – Here’s Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $243.37 and last traded at $243.78. Approximately 9,557,425 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 53,489,277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

Apple Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $240.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 5.8% in the second quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 51,250 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,794,000 after acquiring an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,252,860 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $895,737,000 after acquiring an additional 37,670 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its stake in Apple by 4.3% in the second quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 3,244 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP grew its stake in Apple by 3.6% in the second quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 8,536 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 3.8% in the second quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 118,904 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,044,000 after acquiring an additional 4,365 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% 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.