Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Gap Down to $222.50

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $222.50, but opened at $216.54. Apple shares last traded at $215.87, with a volume of 14,038,723 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.17.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $222.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $199.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 91,369 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $17,591,000 after buying an additional 3,773 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 68.5% in the fourth quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 4,906 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,994 shares during the last quarter. Heirloom Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Heirloom Wealth Management now owns 40,266 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 555,760 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $107,001,000 after buying an additional 38,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephenson & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $1,713,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.