Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Upgraded at DZ Bank

DZ Bank upgraded shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $300.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on AAPL. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, CLSA raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $269.77 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $251.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $277.32.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 224,300 shares of company stock worth $57,586,933 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% during 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 last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% during 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 boosted its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Apple by 2.4% in 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 in the last quarter. 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.