Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $215.00 at Canaccord Genuity Group

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target upped by Canaccord Genuity Group from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research note published on Saturday morning, Stock Target Advisor reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on AAPL. Citigroup dropped their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Redburn Partners cut Apple to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $182.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.78. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.