Apple’s (AAPL) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $220.00 target price on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on AAPL. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America raised shares of Apple from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Apple from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. DZ Bank restated a hold rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $203.34.

Apple Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $165.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $174.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.04. The company has a market cap of $2.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple has a one year low of $162.80 and a one year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Corporate 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 modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its position in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP grew its position in shares of Apple by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.