Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.2%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price was down 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $181.45 and last traded at $181.99. Approximately 11,528,197 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 61,826,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.11.

Apple Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $172.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.79. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of 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 fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.