Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 4% Higher

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $229.60 and last traded at $229.48. Approximately 18,116,248 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 60,577,695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $220.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. DA Davidson upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.17.

Apple Trading Down 0.3 %

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 stock has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $222.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $199.99.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. 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 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.