Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives $240.80 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-two research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $241.7684.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th.

Apple Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $238.15 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $222.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.17. Apple has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.