Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 1.7% – What’s Next?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price was down 1.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $227.68 and last traded at $228.10. Approximately 11,603,415 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 56,563,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.37.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $216.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.63.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. 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.