Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 3.3% – Time to Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 3.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $285.95 and last traded at $284.29. Approximately 255,776,161 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 411% from the average daily volume of 50,085,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.15.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $292.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.