Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 1.5% Following Earnings Beat

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose 1.5% during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $172.66 and last traded at $171.91. Approximately 19,338,124 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 59,947,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.30.

The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.93%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Maxim Group assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 target price (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.00.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. High Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Corporation increased its position in Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 6.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $172.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple Company Profile

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.