Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 1.2% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price rose 1.2% on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $247.19 and last traded at $240.35. Approximately 30,922,545 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 56,268,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $237.59.

The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $211.84 to $200.75 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Joel Adams & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,393,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 415,602 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $104,075,000 after purchasing an additional 21,778 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 137,439 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,417,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Chapman Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Chapman Investment Management LLC now owns 39,635 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,925,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC now owns 6,128 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.82, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $241.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.86.

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.