Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given New $290.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $245.00 to $290.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Loop Capital raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $226.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.47.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $262.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $265.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.74.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its position in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.