Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 5.5% – Here’s Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares dropped 5.5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $226.56 and last traded at $225.87. 19,891,353 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 53,126,071 shares. The stock had previously closed at $239.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

Apple Stock Down 2.9 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $236.47 and its 200-day moving average is $234.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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 that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Global Management UK Ltd purchased a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,907,000. Samlyn Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 138.8% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 641,283 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $135,067,000 after purchasing an additional 372,683 shares during the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 171,933 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,213,000 after purchasing an additional 8,372 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 10,844 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,284,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 67.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,297 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.