Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 1% Higher

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were up 1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $219.23 and last traded at $218.85. Approximately 16,423,803 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 64,809,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $216.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $196.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Apple Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.60.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 949,836 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $162,621,000 after purchasing an additional 57,418 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Services grew its position in shares of Apple by 13.2% during the third quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 3,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 169,493 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $29,019,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,158,270 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $198,307,000 after acquiring an additional 7,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 2.8% in the third quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,773 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,611,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% 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.