Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $260.00 at Melius Research

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target lifted by Melius Research from $227.00 to $260.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. Melius Research currently has a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AAPL. UBS Group reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Maxim Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a hold rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One equities research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $210.83.

Apple Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $208.14 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.85. Apple has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $220.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 14,395.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $3,026,492,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 23,076.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by 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.