Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 0.8% during trading on Friday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $220.85 and last traded at $224.10. 20,710,104 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 59,192,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.91.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AAPL. Citigroup raised their price target on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $227.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.03.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.15. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.6 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.22%.

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.