Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 0.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price rose 0.3% during trading on Friday after Maxim Group raised their price target on the stock to $215.00. Maxim Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $246.94 and last traded at $246.55. Approximately 10,006,311 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 52,243,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.83.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Loop Capital lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James increased their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,625 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,918,000 after buying an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $27,451,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $856,000. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $672,000. Finally, Perennial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $31,508,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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 dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.